The Gift
by Roadrunnerz
Summary: The third installment in a trilogy that began with Unbreakable, and continued with Figlio Perduto. This story begins a couple of months after Figlio ended and brings Anna into the mix. Main characters: Alex/Dimitri, David, Robin, Anna, Faison.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Northern Ontario, Canada_

The snow crunched beneath her feet when she came out into the clearing.

She saw her breath in front of her each time she exhaled, while slowly making her way across the open space. The snow was deeper here and as a result, it slowed her down, making her trek towards the cabin sluggish and laborious. The fact that she carried several logs on her back didn't help.

"I should have worn the snowshoes," she realized in hindsight. "My own fault."

The tired, grey Siberian husky that walked alongside her, barked in agreement.

"You didn't have to agree that quickly," she mumbled back to the dog. Because of his age, the dog struggled even more than she did. "Don't look at me like that," she told him unable to hold back a grin, "I tried to get you to stay back at the cabin but you insisted…"

She saw a faint outline of the familar log cabin in the distance, a small plume of smoke coming out of its chimney. It wasn't much further now.

She stopped and closed her eyes for a moment, and when she did an image suddenly came to her. It was the same image that had flooded her mind less than a week ago. A young, dark haired girl running along a pier, towards her. Holding out her arms and crying out to her:

_"Mommy!"_

_"Robin!"_

She slumped her shoulders, dropped her pack and fell to her knees. Just as it was a few days ago, the precious, fleeting image came with a price. An unbearably sharp pain pierced her skull and she moved her hands to the sides of her head, as if the futile gesture would somehow lessen it.

She groaned, on her knees, in the frozen clearing, but she made no efforts to block out the image. She wanted to see it.

More than that, she desperately wanted to remember.

As the pain intensified, the girl started to fade, making her cry out for her, in angry frustration.

"Please don't go…not again."

Last time, the pain had slowly subsided as the image departed from her mind, but this time it was merciless, continuing long after the girl was gone.

This time, it was too strong. Even for her.

She felt her face hit the ice-cold snow.

And then she felt nothing at all.

The old dog jumped around her, trying to nudge her awake, tugging relentlessly at her nylon jacket. When his efforts failed, he started barking. A loud wailing sound that reflected his fear when he saw her lying in the snow, silent and unmoving.

When even that didn't work, he finally, reluctantly, left her and went in search of help.

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

Robin Scorpio rubbed her eyes, as she walked down the hospital corridor. She was exhausted to the point where her eyes were starting to close on their own. Another doctor had called in sick at the last minute, and as a result, she had ended up working an extra eight hours.

'A nap first,' she thought to herself. 'Then I can attempt the drive back to Wildwind.'

She'd been working at PVH's Emergency Room for less than a month because Alex had convinced her to take the summer off to get to know her new family in Pine Valley. 'And what a family they are,' she thought, remembering the hot, lazy summer days she had spent at Wildwind with Alex, Max, Dimitri, Edmund and his wife Brooke and their kids, and dear, eccentric old Eugenia. After a month at Wildwind, Robin had even gotten Alex to work up the nerve to make the trip to Port Charles with her.

"There are so many people that want to meet you," Robin had told her. "Especially my uncle Mac. If you don't relent soon, they're all going to give up and come here to see you."

Alex always seemed to have a reason as to why she couldn't go. Whether it was work, or Max or Dimitri.

"You're my aunt, my mom's sister, you cannot not meet my family!" Robin had told her one afternoon, exasperated, "Besides, you promised me, remember?"

"What if I'm not what they expect?" Alex had then asked, finally bringing to light the real reason for her endless excuses.

Robin had looked at her in amazement then. She admired Alex as much as she'd grown to love her, and she couldn't think of anyone in the world who had less reason to have an inferiority complex. The fact that she did spoke volumes of the lasting hold that Charlotte Devane, even in death, still had on her daughter, even if Alex would never admit to it. It had also made Robin laugh, 'You won't believe this, Mom, but I think your genius twin sister is sort of intimidated by you...'

"Alex they're going to love you. You and Max both. No one's expecting you to be my Mom, even if you do look exactly like her."

Finally, in spite of Alex's trepidation, the three of them had made the trip to Port Charles and it had been a bigger success than even Robin could have hoped. Mac and his easy charm had made her aunt feel immediately at home and as Robin knew they would, everyone, from Maxie to Bobbie, absolutely adored Max.

They had shared a lot of meals, as well as laughter and tears as they relived her parents' past through Mac's stories. 'Mac's highly embellished stories,' Robin thought with a grin. The memory made her smile now.

She turned the key in the door of Alex's office and glanced at its dark, quiet interior, 'It's not fair that Mom and Dad never got a chance to meet you,' she thought tiredly. 'It's all so damn unfair.'

Robin closed the door behind her not bothering to turn on the light. Normally she would have gone down to the resident lounge to nap, but then she remembered the large grey, couch that was in her aunt's office. She also knew that Alex wouldn't be in today. It was the perfect place for a quiet nap. Robin knew that Alex shared the office with another doctor. She couldn't remember his name, only that he was a Cardiologist, who helped her run the Andrassy Foundation. Alex had mentioned that he would be away for most of the summer, at native reservation in Canada. Robin hadn't met him yet.

'So for the time being, this is probably the most tranquil spot in the entire hospital,' she thought as she lay down on the soft, large couch.

She was asleep in seconds.  
_  
One hour later_

David Hayward made his way towards his office, realizing he looked as out of place as he felt. He was wearing a thick, chequered lumberjack shirt and a pair of work boots.

He had stepped off a plane from Bison River less than an hour ago, dropping off Josie at home and realizing he had a file folder of papers in his office he needed to fax to the reservation's medical clinic.

"I'm going to drive to PVH and pick up the papers for Tina, and then I'll come right back," he had told his adopted daughter. 'And then I should call Alex,' he decided. Since she no longer lived alone in London, he had called her less frequently these days, and oddly enough, he found himself missing their friendship. ' I've also been shirking my responsibilities at the Foundation,' he thought. Alex had virtually run it on her own for the entire summer while he had been up north, at his daughter's birthplace.

"But at least I can now say I've tanned a moose hide and hunted for muskrat," he mumbled to himself, grinning, as he opened the door to his office.

The very first thing he saw was a young woman asleep on his couch.

She wore a white lab coat and he saw her physician's ID badge on it. Even so she looked more like a high school student, barely old enough to hold a driver's license. She was sleeping peacefully and David had to admit she was beautiful, and he wondered what her eyes would look like once she opened them.

Even so, her unexpected presence annoyed him. He was tired and jet lagged and the last thing he wanted was to deal with a cheeky, lazy intern who had the nerve to break into his office.

"Hey!" He nudged her and the woman jerked awake, rubbing her eyes in the bright light of the office.

"What do you think this is? A motel? This is a private office and if you don't make your way out of it right now, I'll report you to your supervising physician."

"Who are you?" she asked him sleepily, staring at his outdoorsy attire. He also thought he saw a trace of anger in her delicate features.

"Who am I you ask me? I'll tell you who I am, I'm the person whose office you decided to break into…"

The young woman stared at him in disbelief, "_Break into_?"

"Look, if you don't make your way of here right now, I'll not only notify your supervising physician but hospital security as well, to make sure this goes on your permanent record."

"_Excuse me?"_ This time there was no mistaking the anger that was written all over her face.

David observed her with impatience, "Well, what are you waiting for? Did I not make myself sufficiently clear? Do I _really _have to pick up the phone and call security? I don't know where you've worked before coming to PVH, but at this hospital the offices of supervising physicians are not personal lounges for whoever might need a nap away from the other interns…"

The young doctor took a deep breath before interrupting him mid-sentence, "First of all, I did not _break_ into this office. Not that you merit any sort of explanation after jerking me awake and not even pausing long enough to ask me my name before deciding you needed an outlet for your obviously pent up frustrations, whatever the hell they may be…"

David in turn, cut her off, as quickly as she had cut him off. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? Because I'll give you one last chance to get out of here, right now, before your attitude does some serious damage to your medical career."

"I've dealt with a lot of arrogance and condescension during my time as a doctor," she seethed. "So I hope you're not deluding yourself into thinking that you're intimidating me in any way…"

This time her sentence wasn't cut short, by David, but by the sound of a door opening.

It was Alex who walked through it, looking first at the young woman and then at David.

David saw her smile at the woman, before walking over to give him a fierce, unabashed hug, thoroughly happy to see him.

"Hey there lumberjack, welcome back! How's your beautiful girl? I've missed you around here…and I've definitely missed another body to help with all this paperwork."

Her gaze turned back to the young woman, and she seemed blissfully ignorant of the tense silence between them.

" I also see you've met my niece. That's great… I won't have to make any introductions then."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

David Hayward looked at Alex, flabbergasted "Your _niece_?"

Alex nodded, suddenly aware of an odd tension between them, "Yes, Robin. I told you about her working in the ER, last time we spoke on the phone, remember?" Alex looked at Robin, "You didn't introduce yourself?"

Robin glared at David. "He didn't exactly give me a chance."

In turn, David did something Alex rarely saw him do. He looked remorseful. Embarassed. " I…I think…uh, we might have had a little misunderstanding."

Robin's icy glare didn't waiver, "No. I don't think that's what it was at all. You came in here and saw someone you immediately thought you could step on, like a lowly insect in the hospital hierarchy."

"_Robin_?" Alex stared at her niece, aghast. She'd never seen her this angry.

"Look, I have no intention of taking on anyone's overblown ego right now," Robin told them, before turning to Alex. "I didn't think you were going to be in today. I had an exhausting night and decided to come in here for a nap, before heading home. I didn't think you'd mind."

"Of course not, you know you're welcome here anytime…"

Robin squeezed her arm and Alex could sense her anger fading, even though her niece didn't so much as acknowledge David's presence anymore. "I'll see you later at Wildwind."

"Sure."

As soon as she left, Alex turned to give David a puzzled look, "What the was _that_ about?"

David shook his head and sighed. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. "I thought she was an intruder, Alex."

"Robin? Didn't she tell you what she was doing in the office?"

"I found her sleeping on the couch when I got in…"

Alex sighed, suddenly able to imagine what might have taken place, "Of course you didn't give her a chance to explain…"

"How could I have ever imagined that's who it would be…?"

"I don't know...because it seems like a logical conclusion?" Alex sighed, "You know, you're unbelievable sometimes." Part of her wanted to strangle him for both his lack of tact and his incurable arrogance. In fact, less than a year ago she might have contemplated it. But nowadays, she reminded herself that when it came to David Hayward you had to take the good with the bad. She also had to admit that he'd become a far better friend to her than she would ever have imagined.

She sank into her leather chair, and toyed with a pen, while shaking her head.

David stared at her, "That's it? You're not going to chew me out?"

She gave him a lopsided grin, "What do want me to do? Yell at you? Maybe throw some flowers in your direction? As if that ever got me anywhere where you're concerned…" She pointed to the mound of paperwork on her desk, "Besides, if I don't get some help from you with this, I'll have to hire someone else and truthfully...I've really missed you."

He laughed and Alex saw the pent up tension leave his face, "I'm glad to see your kindness has an ulterior motive."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

David sat down at his desk, across from hers, "She's pretty feisty, your niece. Once she got over her initial shock, she certainly didn't mince words."

The thought amused Alex, "Good for her."

"How can I make this up to her? Help me out here, Alex. Does she like flowers? Chocolates?"

Alex took off her jacket and put on her glasses, "I know this is probably going to be a foreign concept for you, but how about a simple, 'I'm sorry'?"

David grumbled, "In other words you're not going to help me."

"Robin's probably one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. I'm sure if you can muster a little sincerity she'll forgive you."

"I don't know…she was pretty upset."

"Use your charm, Doctor Hayward." She looked at his casual attire, "So how was Bison River?"

David leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out behind his neck, "It was definitely different. Tina says 'hi' by the way, she'd love it if you could join me next time Josie and I make the trek up there. Even if only for a few days."

Alex eyed the paper in front of her, "Between the Foundation and Max and Dimitri, I feel like I barely have enough time to think these days."

"See that's the difference in Bison River. Sometimes Josie and I would spend an entire day just fishing, nothing else…you forget that time passes, no schedules, no appointments."

Alex laughed, "It's called a vacation."

David shook his head, and he looked suddenly serious, "It's more than that. The pace of life is different up there. When I first adopted Josie, I thought I was doing her this huge favour. Giving her a chance at a better life, an education…but when I'm in Bison River, it makes me wonder whether we aren't kidding ourselves. Is it really better to sit in a smog filled traffic jam every day as you make your way home to your two car garage, just to keep up with the rat race?"

Alex raised her eyebrows, "There's more to Pine Valley life than that, isn't there? Josie's a smart kid, and the high school drop out rates in Bison River are unbelievably high. I think you gave her a huge opportunity and at the same time you're keeping her connected to her roots. It's the best of both worlds, isn't it?"

"I suppose. It's just that when I first went there, all I saw was the poverty and the social problems, but having gone back I've seen other things too. I realized that the things that matter are the air you breathe, the ground you walk on, the forest that surrounds you…not the things you buy and own."

Alex reached over to touch his forehead, "Who are you? And what have you done to my friend David?"

He chuckled, "Funny."

"I do know what you mean…" Alex's mind drifted back a few months, when she thought she might have lost not just Max but Dimitri. Her everythings. "The things that matter most can't be bought. I could've told you that. You didn't need a trip up north for that. Just one phone call... to me." She smirked, "Take Robin for instance, having her in my life has been...a gift, David. She's incredible and she's given me a chance to have a connection to my twin sister."

David got up and scooped up a pile of papers from of her desk and put them on his.

Alex gave him a puzzled look.

"I owe you two months of paperwork," he explained, with a grin. "Now, in exchange, tell me what Robin likes."

"I told you, she likes sincerity."

"Come on, you can do better than that."

Alex shook her head, "Sorry. You got yourself into this one. Just be nice to her. Having her in my life means the world to me."

He gave her a mock salute, "Nice. Gotcha. I can do nice."

He made his way out of the office, bending down to give her a kiss on the cheek on his way out. "See you tomorrow."

Alex watched him leave the office. He had a slight swagger, in his lumberjack shirt.

'Welcome back, Hayward,' she thought with a smile.

_Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Anna!"

"Anna!"

_"Anna!"_

The dog was still leading him, moving its tired body faster than he had thought possible. Bart was worried that the dog's excellent sense of smell soon wouldn't matter anymore in the impending darkness. Nightfall would make the search impossible.

He also wished the animal could speak and tell him what had happened, tell him why he had returned to the cabin without her. 'She could have gotten caught in a leghold trap,' he thought, with a frown, hoping he was wrong. 'Or maybe…'

His gut instincts told him otherwise. 'Stop dreaming up absurd possibilities, you know exactly what must have happened…'

Just then, as his frown deepened, he spotted a figure lying on the ground, in the clearing.

He ran towards it, as quickly as his old legs would allow in the foot high snow. It terrified him to see her lying face down in the snow. He turned her body over as soon as he was kneeling down next to her.

"Jesus Christ, Anna. Come on, hon. Wake up…"

She groaned when she recognized his familiar face in the last light of the day.

He managed to make her sit up; noticing that one side of her face was bright red. Had he arrived only minutes later, he was certain she'd have been scarred by the frostbite. The frantic husky wagged his tail furiously, relieved to see his owner awake again. He tried to lick her face but Bart pushed him away.

"I know you're glad, but you're not helping things, Wappie."

She shivered in the cold, and Bart draped his coat over her, putting her arms over his shoulders. She was small and light, but even so, he would have to use every ounce of his strength to help her make it back to the cabin. "You've got to walk with me, Anna. I can't carry you."

Her teeth chattered in the evening wind, "I'm so cold, Bart. I can't feel my legs."

"Once we get moving, it'll be better. We're not far from the cabin, but I can't do it on my own."

Her movements were lethargic and painfully slow, and it took Bart's every effort to not lose his grip on her.

What normally would have been a fifteen minute walk, turned into a one hour struggle. When they finally reached the cabin Bart made her lie down next to the fireplace and immediately threw more kindling into the fire, before boiling some water.

He took off her wet clothes and covered her with every blanket he could find.

His saw his efforts bring back some warmth to her frozen limbs, and he handed her a cup of hot tea, before collapsing on the ground next to her, completely exhausted. The husky too was drained, its old body sagging in the corner. The dog was rarely inside the cabin, but Bart thought that tonight was as good a night as any to make an exception.

He needed to feed him too, but at moment Bart couldn't muster the energy.

"What the hell happened out there, Anna?"

She said nothing, still shivering. She stared into the fireplace, her hands shaking while she held on to the steaming cup of tea.

"Anna, talk to me, hon. Did you have another memory?"

She looked at him as though debating whether or not to tell him the truth, before she slowly nodded her head.

Bart stared at her, putting his hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Did you try and block it out? Like I told you to?"

"No."

Bart balled his fist in anger, "Why the hell not? You could have died out there tonight, Anna! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Anna took a deep breath. "I don't know, Bart. Maybe it doesn't. After all these years, I've finally started to remember my past. _Finally_. And now you want me to block out my memories? You might as well ask me to roll over and die."

"You almost did," he reminded her.

"Why is it that I keep seeing a little girl, if you tell me I had no children?" she asked him once again. She'd asked him so many countless question since the images started, Bart didn't know what to tell her anymore.

"Your memories aren't sweet, warm and fuzzy images," he reminded her instead. "They leave you paralysed with pain." At first the images had merely given her headaches, but in the last couple of months, it had all become so much worse.

The last time she saw an image of the little girl, Anna had nearly lost consciousness and Bart had been terrified as to what might happen if she had a memory when he wasn't around.

Tonight had answered his question.

Anna almost froze to death out in the wilderness.

Bart stared at her, sitting next to the fire, wondering how much longer she'd be able to tolerate the memories. A nearby village doctor had given her something for the pain, but it barely seemed to have any effect. That knowledge frightened him too. Bart remembered stitching up a part of her arm after a canoeing accident, several years ago. At that time, he didn't have a single sip of alcohol on hand to act as an anesthetic and she hadn't flinched. And know she had headaches that made her cry and knocked her out.

He _had _to get her help. He couldn't keep telling himself she'd be alright if he didn't.

"You could've died," he repeated gruffly, wanting her to feel some guilt for her stubbornness.

"But I didn't," she countered, wrapping the wool blanket over her bare shoulders.

He got back up, taking the empty cup out of her hand, reminding himself she was in no shape for the angry words he had in store for her. "What am I supposed to do, Anna? Put you on a leash? Never let you leave the cabin unless I'm with you?"

"I know you're angry with me," she said softly. "I _have_ tried to block some of them out, like you asked me to. But I won't block out the ones of the girl. I need to know who she is. I've waited so long to remember my past, Bart. Now that it's finally coming back to me, I have to grab that chance, no matter how much it hurts."

"Your past won't help you if you're dead..." he started, then bit his tongue. "I'm not going to lecture you now, Anna. You're exhausted. But tomorrow we're going to talk about this."

Her dark eyes locked with his and as was so often the case lately, he couldn't read them at all. He once thought he knew her so well, but maybe he was kidding himself on that account too.

Things had changed between them. He didn't know what to do anymore, how to react, and worst of all he didn't know how to help her.

" Bart…?" she whispered.

"What is it?" He felt his anger subside, as it often did with just one glance in her direction.

"Thank you…for saving my life. Again."

Bart pointed to the sleeping dog, "Don't thank me. Thank him. I'd never found you without him. He probably would rather have died out there, than come back here without you."

Bart moved to cover her with another blanket, when he saw that she was still shivering.

"Sleep next to the fire tonight," he told her and she didn't protest.

Bart went to her room to get her a pillow, but when he came back out, he saw that she was already asleep.

He sat down next to her, frowning when he saw how pale she was, in contrast to the reddish-brown burn that ran along one side of her face.

'I'm losing her,' he thought sadly, 'I'll lose her if I get her help, and I'll lose her if I don't...'

He stared into the flames for a long time, before finally making his decision.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Northern Ontario, Canada_

It was still dark outside when the howling of wolves in the distance woke Bart from his restless sleep. He'd been tossing and turning on the old, paisley sofa that sat in the middle of the log cabin.

His every muscle ached as he stretched himself. 'You're not twenty anymore,' he reminded himself. 'Hell, who are you kidding,' he added with a chuckle, 'You're not even sixty anymore.'

He glanced towards Anna, still asleep on the floor, next to the fireplace. Her colour looked much better than last night, and when he got up to run his hand along her cheeks, he was surprised to see her temperature felt normal.

'Good girl,' he thought. Her resilience really shouldn't have surprised him anymore. It was typical Anna Scorpio.

'Maybe I over reacted last night,' he thought. 'After all, this is the first time she fainted outside. It may very well never happen again…'

Bart rubbed his hands together, realizing he was looking for excuses to reverse his decision.

Their idyllic existence was bound to come to an end. It was time he accepted that fact. He couldn't hold on to her forever.

He stared at her, lying asleep by the fire, and the image suddenly took him fourteen years back in time. To the day he first met Anna Scorpio.

The day that had nearly marked the end of her young life.

-

_Fourteen years earlier_

_-_

It had been a gorgeous day. The sky was such a clear, perfect blue, Bart could still envision it to this day.

It was to have been his final assignment with the WSB, before retiring, after more than three decades of service. Along with two other agents, he'd been assigned to trail a man named Robert Scorpio to South America. Scorpio wasn't just any man, he was the man many believed had an excellent chance of becoming the next Director of the WSB.

"He's going to lead us to his wife. She's the one we want," his dispatching agent informed him. "Anna Devane Scorpio is also a former agent of ours. Both her and Scorpio once worked under the supervision of Sean Donely. We now have reason to believe that during her early tenure with the Bureau she worked as a double agent, selling information to a notorious non-governmental agency, the DVX."

Bart listened with interest during his briefing.

"It appears that Mrs. Scorpio has again decided to betray us, as we have evidence indicating she's travelled to Venezuela with the current head of the DVX, a man named Cesar Faison. Her husband believes she's been kidnapped, but we have reason to suspect she went of her own free will. We've been trailing Robert Scorpio for over two weeks and now it appears he's gone after her." His superior chuckled, "Either to save her from her sordid fate or to kill her himself, for her betrayal, we're not sure yet. Either way, he's going to lead us to her." The man paused; knowing the effect his next words would have on Bart. "A Black Box order has been issued for Anna Scorpio."

Bart nodded in silence. It was a highly unusual order; whomever it was intended for presented a viable security risk for both the Bureau and the United States.

Once the agent was located, a Black Box order warranted immediate termination.

"If you find there are any reasons that she is being held against her will, you're to hold off on the order and arrest her," the dispatching agent told him. "She's to be brought back to the United States where she'll most likely be charged with treason. The rest is up to the Department of Justice. Following her tenure in the WSB, Anna Scorpio knows far too much. If she's selling or giving away classified information, it's at the risk of every man and woman who works for this organization. Whether she is offering this information willingly or through coercion on part of Cesar Faison is irrelevant. Her very existence poses a threat to this organization."

Bart nodded. The prospect of killing a fellow agent was always uncomfortable, but the assignment itself was simple enough. No matter how things turned out, Anna Scorpio was as good as dead. Even if the Black Box order wasn't carried through, he knew that once she was under arrest, her future as a free citizen was bleak. The maximum sentence for treason in the United States, both then and now, was the death penalty and Bart knew very well that if the Bureau decided to exert its influence, it would be her ultimate fate.

Truthfully, he didn't care.

He had no sympathy for traitors and the sooner he found her and could start his retirement, the better. The fact that she had a beautiful young daughter and a husband who insisted on her innocence, mattered little to him.

And so his mission led him to a rusty, decrepit tanker, anchored the coast of South America on that impossibly beautiful day. Bart and two other agents had tailed Robert Scorpio, right up the moment where he went up into the ship. As the senior agent on the assignment, Bart decided to coordinate the mission from the pier, while the two younger agents followed Scorpio onto the tanker.

"Stay in contact, but don't compromise your positions," he instructed them. "Even if it means letting them get off the boat."

"We have a visual," one of his agents, a young blonde woman, with a thick, Texan accent replied.

Bart raised his binoculars and spotted two people on the deck. A petite woman with long dark hair, and a man with a short ponytail. Anna Scorpio and Cesar Faison. "Good job," he told his agent.

Bart's eyes tracked the figures on the ship for less than a minute when suddenly his binoculars were flooded with a painfully bright light, blinding him.

A loud, crashing noise enveloped him, bursting his eardrums, rendering him not only temporarily blind but also deaf. Debris started to fall and Bart covered his head with his arms, trying to avoid pieces of metal that he could neither see nor hear. He fell to his knees from the aftershock of the explosion and only once his sight returned did he see that more than half of the huge ship in front of him was engulfed in flames.

A searing heat encompassed him and he did the only thing that made sense then. He jumped into the water, and dove under it. As soon as he did, a second explosion rocked the ship and a part of its control tower fell onto the pier, in the exact spot where had been standing.

Had he not jumped into the water, he would have died instantly, on that beautiful, sunny day.

He tried to stay underwater as long as his lungs would allow. After several minutes, just as he thought they were about to burst, he dove up for air.

It was in that instant that he met Anna Devane Scorpio.

She too was trying to stay afloat in the increasingly warm water. There was a steady flow of blood from the back of her head, turning the water around her a reddish-pink. It was obvious that she'd been hit by the debris, and as he took a closer look at her, he noticed that one of her arms too was bleeding, from the burns that ran along it.

Her eyes met his and he remembered reading her lips as she mouthed three words to him, before she closed her eyes and started to slip under the water.

"Help me…_please!_"

It didn't matter then how much he despised the traitor he believed she was. When he saw her about to drown, his first instinct was to save a life. Bart dove down after her, pulling her back to the surface.

Another piece of debris crashed down next to them, and thankfully, its ensuing wave pushed them away from the ship. Bart struggled to hold on to her limp body, made heavier by her wet clothes. Blood continued to stream from her head. He still couldn't hear and the silence that engulfed him was a stark contrast to the blazing chaos that surrounded them. Whenever he remembered the explosion that day, Bart wondered what horrible sounds must have filled the air. For him everything took place in absolute silence.

He swam away from the ship, holding on to Anna. He noticed a pair of street vendors on the pier, waving to him, throwing a life ring into the water.

Bart grabbed on to it, feeling his strength ebb away from him, as the heat of the fire surrounded him. The black, billowing smoke that followed the explosion suddenly made it impossible to breathe.

The men on the pier noticed that he hung on to the life ring with difficulty and jumped into the water to help him. To this day, Bart wasn't sure how both of them ended up out of the water, and on the pier. All he remembered was coughing; coughing so hard in the acrid black smoke that he saw drops of blood fall from his mouth.

Anna didn't appear to breathe at all anymore. Smoke covered them both and his eyes stung. The two men who had helped him out of the water had disappeared.

His world was still mercifully silent and Bart's gaze went from the lifeless body next to him, to the burning ship in the water. He wondered whether anyone else had survived the explosion.

'If my two agents are dead, there will be no trial for you,' he thought bitterly, staring at Anna. 'The WSB will make sure you're dead before you stand trial.'

He wanted to kill her himself, right then and there.

'If it wasn't for you, my agents wouldn't have been on that boat,' he thought. He wanted to pick her up and throw her back in the water. Yet when he looked at her all he saw was a woman, who looked much younger than she was. A severly injured woman whose life was ebbing away in front of his eyes.

Because that's all he could see in that instant, he picked her up and walked down the pier with her unconscious body in his arms, waving down the first taxi he saw.

"A hospital," he had told the driver in perfect Spanish, his deafness making him yell out the words. "You have to take us to a hospital!"

After they got to a hospital, Bart left her there. He told the doctors she was his daughter. Blood ran from his ears and the doctors insisted he stay there too, but Bart ignored them, taking the same taxi back to the site of the explosion.

A horde of curious, horrified onlookers now stood there, staring at the still-burning hull that was all that was left of the tanker. The flames had subsided but the thick acrid, black smoke still filled the air and Bart found himself gasping for air again as he neared the dying vessel.

He took out his WSB ID and asked a local policeman whether any injured persons were found.

"No, there was nobody on the ship," the policeman informed him, "It's been abandoned for months, waiting to be transported to a ship's graveyard. It's a lucky thing because nobody could have survived that explosion. Nobody."

Bart understood most of what the officer was telling him, making him realize that his hearing was slowly returning.

"Was no one taken away in an ambulance?"

"No…no ambulance. Some dock workers were almost hit by the debris but no one was taken to a hospital. Thank God, there was no one on the ship…" the officer repeated. He stared at Bart, " Senor, do you know that you're bleeding from your ears? Were you near the ship?"

Bart shook his head, "No."

He had to return to his hotel room. If his agents had made it out alive and weren't seriously injured they would try to contact him there.

Bart went there and waited. He waited all night for the phone call and the knock on the door that would never come.

By next morning, he knew with certainty that they were dead. No one here would ever know. The WSB would never admit to their presence on that tanker.

Although Bart knew little more about them than their names, he left the hotel room and walked to the nearest church to light a candle for his agents. 'It should have been me, on that ship,' was all he thought.

Still in shock, he walked the hot, noisy city streets for hours until he realized that the news of the explosion would have made his superiors think that he too had died.

He returned to his hotel room and called the Bureau. He told them everything that happened; his efforts to co-ordinate the mission from the pier, spotting both Faison and Anna on the deck, the explosion, the ensuing chaos, and his assumption that his agents had died during the explosion.

The WSB in turn had told him that an agent would be sent to retrieve him as soon as possible and that media knowledge of the Bureau's involvement had to be avoided at all costs.

It was only after he hung up the phone that Bart realized, that in his shock, _he had completely forgotten to tell them about Anna_.

He set down the receiver with shaking hands. 'Maybe it doesn't matter,' he thought, 'Maybe she's already dead.'

He wanted to go back to the hospital where he had left her, but his body was too drained to even stand up.

He slept for several hours and, long after sunset, he went back out and tried to find the hospital where he'd left Anna Scorpio. He could remember neither its name nor its location and he went to four other hospitals before he finally found her.

Once he got there, her attending physician was furious.

"Your daughter is in critical condition! You left us with no medical information about her…we could...charge you for criminal negligence! We don't even know how she obtained her injuries."

"My _what_?"

The physician glared at him, "The woman you brought here yesterday…although dumped really is a better word."

"Yes…?"

"You said she's your daughter…isn't she?"

Bart was starting to remember. "Yes…yeah, she is."

"You didn't even give us her _name!_"

Bart stared back blankly at the doctor. It was all coming back to him. "Anna. Her name is Anna."

The doctor had folded his arms now. "Well, I regret to inform you that it doesn't look good for Anna. She's in critical condition. Her head injuries are severe and her temperature has skyrocketed due to the infections caused by her burns. Her left side and arm may be permanently scarred, there is also a chance of lasting brain damage...to be honest, I would be surprised if she makes it through another night. Her condition has deteriorated since yesterday. You might want to spend some time by her side. It may be your last chance."

Bart stared at her, through the window of the ICU, lying unconscious on the hospital bed, surrounded by tubes and machines. Her entire head was swathed in thick, white bandages.

'She's going to die anyway…' he realized. Bart eyed at the physician, "I'll be back tomorrow."

The doctor's jaw dropped, in stunned disbelief. "I've just told you that your daughter is dying..."

"I heard you," Bart replied and turned around to walk away.

He could hear the doctor from a distance. "You can do it, Anna. Show that bastard that you don't need him by your side to survive."

The next day, two men from the WSB flew in to meet Bart at his hotel room.

He spent the entire day telling recounting the events as they happened so they could record it for the Bureau.

He told them everything except the part where he had pulled Anna out of the water.

'It doesn't matter,' he thought. 'She'll be dead by now anyway.'

The agents who questioned him were young, like Anna Scorpio, much younger than he'd been when he had started. 'Why the hell would they bring in kids to do this kind of work?'

"We're taking you back to Washington tonight," the agents told him.

Bart told them otherwise. "I can't. My eardrums suffered damage from the explosion. The hotel doctor said I shouldn't risk flying for at least two weeks. The altitude could burst them again."

And because the agents were young and clueless they didn't contradict him. Or even try to.

"I'll be there, for the memorial service, for my colleagues," he told them, at the same time letting them know their meeting was finished.

The following day, Bart returned to the hospital. He expected to sign a death certificate.

Instead, he found that Anna was not only alive but that she had been moved from the ICU.

"What?" he asked the doctor, stunned.

"Her condition's improved remarkably over the last 48 hours," the physician told him, and Bart thought he heard a trace of spite in the man's voice. The doctor made no effort to hide his hostility. 'Who can blame him?' Bart thought, 'He thinks I'm the worst father in the world.'

"That's great news," he managed to croak out.

The doctor frowned when he looked at him. "Anna regained consciousness this morning. She's merely asleep now."

"Did she...say anything when she woke up?"

"Not much. She asked me where she was. I asked her some basic questions, none of which she was able to answer."

"What kind of questions?" Bart asked him.

"Like her name and age."

"She couldn't answer those?"

"She doesn't remember…and quite frankly if amnesia is the only repercussion of her injuries, I think you should get down on your knees and thank God for the miracle you've been given."

Instead of getting down on his knees as the good doctor had suggested, Bart left the hospital that day and didn't return for another two weeks.

The fact that Anna Scorpio hadn't died, changed everything. How could he possibly tell the WSB that he had saved one of their most wanted? Granted he'd been in shock and under great duress, but still, his actions would compromise his pension, his reputation… his entire unblemished career would now be marred by that one foolish act. Followed by the even more foolish act of not telling anyone what he'd done.

'No one can know about her,' Bart decided.

He flew back to Washington to attend the memorial service of his two colleagues and found out that a similar service was being held at the same time in Port Charles for Robert and Anna Scorpio. He remembered seeing newspaper photographs of the little, dark haired girl attending the service. She looked like a mirror image of her mother in those photos.

Then he flew back to Venezuela and went back to the hospital where Anna was 'recovering splendidly', according to her physician.

"Except she remembers absolutely nothing about herself or her past."

Bart had a feeling that Anna had become a special patient for the doctor. His eyes lit up when he spoke about her and he seemed determined to make up for her father's neglect by lavishing his attention on her. 'That's because you have no idea what kind of a person she really is,' Bart thought. 'If you did, you wouldn't be so taken by her appearance.' Bart knew people well enough to know that appearances were usually deceptive.

As a result of the doctor's dedication, her burns had healed better than expected. Even the bandage on her head was only a small, white patch on the back now.

"She's going to need a lot of help coming to terms with the fact that she has no memory. Emotional and psychological help that I'm certain you're unable to give her. I beg of you, please make sure she keeps her neurological appointments. Her head injuries were severe. She may have chronic headaches for a long time, perhaps for the rest of her life. It's hard to gauge at this time what other repercussions they'll have for her future."

"What do I have to sign?" was all he said.

"I swear to God, if you don't look after her…" the doctor had hissed.

"Then what?" Bart snapped back. "Relax, I'm going to take her to her relatives in England. They're more sentimental than me. They just didn't have the necessary finances to come and see her here."

"You're a cold, heartless man, Mr. Milton. You don't deserve Anna."

"Spare me the sermon. You don't know my daughter."

"You're right, I don't. But I do know she's a fighter, and even _you_ aren't going to be able to take that away from her."

When Anna came out of the patient room, she'd given her doctor a nervous glance. He proceeded to kiss her forehead, "Remember what I told you, Anna. Yesterday doesn't matter, tomorrow is what counts. You're starting your life with a clean slate. It'll be whatever you make of it."

Anna nodded and stared at Bart with even more apprehension.

Once they left the hospital, Bart handed her a forged passport and several forms of identification. "You'll need these, because we're leaving the country tonight."

She barely spoke two words to him as they flew from Venezuela to Minneapolis. It was a false shyness, borne out of sheer terror of being in a world that was completely foreign to her. Bart later found out that while she could be brooding and pensive, she was certainly not shy.

"Where are you taking me?" was one of the few questions she asked him.

"My mother was Canadian…half Native. Before she met my father, her family owned a log cabin in the woods of Northern Ontario. It's mine now and it's where I planned to retire, to spend the rest of my life fishing and hunting. You certainly didn't figure into that equation, Anna Scorpio."

"Why do you call me that?" she asked, on the plane, en route to the United States.

"Because that's your name. Don't worry your pretty little head off trying to remember me. I'm not your father."

"But at the hospital…?" she stared at him, more confused than ever.

"I had to get you out of there, didn't I?"

"If you're not my father, then who are you?"

"I was the man who was sent to kill you."

"What?" her dark, animated eyes were even more terrified now.

"I'll tell you everything once we arrive at our destination. Then you can decide for yourself what you want to do."

-

_Present day_

Anna stirred in her sleep and the sound brought Bart back to the present. The sun was starting to rise now.

'I was so cruel to you then and that was only the beginning…' he thought. ' I thought you were my worst nightmare.'

Seeing that she was still asleep, Bart closed his eyes again, and he remembered what happened after he brought her to the cabin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

'_When you look in my eyes  
You get what you see  
Understand, if you can  
That I am who I am'_

_Northern Ontario, Canada_

Bart had gone to make himself a coffee and now he was sitting back down on the sofa.

The sun was already high in the sky and normally both him and Anna would have been busy by now, but today he didn't have the energy or the heart to wake her.

Instead, he had closed the curtains and turned on his oil lamp, to keep the cabin dark for her.

As he sipped his coffee, his thoughts drifted back to the past. To the day he first brought her here.

-

_Fourteen years earlier_

Getting here was an arduous journey. The nearest road was more than twenty miles away and the cabin itself was only accessible by canoe. It rained that day, a heavy, pouring rain that soaked both of them, in spite of their rain gear.

When they finally did get here Anna collapsed on his sofa with exhaustion.

"Why did you bring me here? You obviously can't stand me. Why am I even with you?" she asked him.

"You have to recover from your injuries somewhere, and in your case it's best that you do it as far away from civilization as possible."

"What do you mean? _Why_ do I have to hide?" she pressed him, in spite of her fatigue.

He wasn't in the mood for her questions and readied himself to leave again. "I'm going to be back in a few days. I'll bring you some documents that will tell you everything you need to know about yourself."

"Wait!" she called out to him, in disbelief. "You can't just leave me here, alone in the middle of the woods!"

"There's food in this bag." He threw her the duffel bag they'd brought along. "It'll last you until I come back. As long as you don't leave the cabin, you'll be fine. Make sure you don't leave any food lying around. This is black bear territory."

"_Please_…let me come with you!" she pleaded. The thought of being left completely alone seemed to terrify her.

Bart didn't care. In fact, he took some pleasure seeing her afraid. "You're only going to slow me down. Stay put here."

He slammed the door behind him as he left.

As promised, he came back three days later, with a huge bag of supplies and a thick, manilla folder.

He expected her to curse him for having left her the way she did. But she didn't. Instead, she barely acknowledged his presence when he entered the cabin.

Like most young agents these days, Anna Scorpio was a city dweller and Bart had no doubts that the cabin's isolation, never mind the pitch black, silent nights, would have made her uncomfortable. She probably hadn't slept much the last three days.

The dark circles under her eyes confirmed his suspicions. "How did you make out while I was gone?"

"Fine."

"You look awful," he told her. It was the truth, she looked pale and sick.

"I'm fine," she repeated defiantly.

"If you want to get better, you'll have to look after yourself. I'm not playing nursemaid."

He tossed the manila folder at her. "Here's some bedtime reading for you."

The folder contained extensive details about her work for the WSB, about her stint as a police commissioner in Port Charles, her two husbands, her final act of betrayal with Cesar Faison, and, lastly about the tanker explosion. In short, it was her life on paper. Except it didn't mention that she was a mother. Bart had carefully removed any information pertaining to Robin Scorpio from all of the documents.

'If she knows she has a daughter, she'll know she has something to return to,' he had reasoned. 'Right now it's better that she thinks she doesn't.' Anna would remember the little girl some time in the future anyway, once the amnesia wore off.

Anna tore into the documents he gave her, unable to put them down until she'd read every last snippet of information.

Her reaction to them took Bart by surprise.

She wept.

"This was the person I was? No wonder you look at me with so much hatred…"

"I don't know why you did the things you did," Bart told her, "And I don't care. Maybe you had your reasons, I don't know. We might never know now."

"I betrayed my husband, my family, my country…what kind of a person does that?"

"Look, I've given you the facts because you need to know where you stand. If the government of the United States were to find out that you're still alive you'd be arrested on charges of treason, and if the WSB were to find out, they'd kill you for causing the death of two of their own, three if you count your husband."

She stared at the photo of Robert Scorpio, running her fingers over it, her face a mask of regret. "He died because of me, and I don't even remember him." She started to cry again. Hot, heavy tears that ran down her cheeks in silence.

Bart wasn't sure what to make of her reaction. "If you return to the States, and tell them your story, I'll be implicated as well, for keeping your survival a secret."

"So you're going to keep me a prisoner here?" she asked, wiping tears from her face.

"No, that's not my style. You're free to leave. But I would suggest you stay in Canada. Once you cross the border, you're as good as dead. If you keep quiet about me saving your life, I'll repay the favour by helping you get false documents so you can start a new life here."

"What about my family? Isn't there anyone out there for me? Someone who could help me remember?"

"Your parents died when you were young. You have no brothers or sisters and your husband…your husband died on that boat."

"There's no one in this whole world who misses me…" The thought made her shiver.

She looked so lost and miserable; Bart felt an unexpected twinge of pity for her. "I'm sure you had friends, but I don't know whether trying to contact them is worth risking a lifetime prison sentence or a death penalty."

In an act of stubborn defiance, the likes of which he would come to know all too well, she threw the file folder at his feet. "Then why did you bother saving my life, if I have nothing worth living for?" she asked him accusingly, the tears tumbling down her cheeks again.

Bart still couldn't make sense of her. Anyone selfish enough to betray her family and country, would think about saving their own skin first, wouldn't they?

"You were about to drown, forgive me if my first reaction wasn't to let you die," he shot back.

"I have nothing. No family, no friends, no home, no job, not even my damn memory! All I have is this file folder with these pictures and these accusations…" She slumped into the sofa he now sat on, utterly defeated.

"Stay here for a couple of weeks," he told her. "Maybe you'll start to remember something. Then make your decision. I promise I'll stay out of your way as much as possible."

Little did he know that the next few weeks would change his life.

It was an understatement to say that watching Anna trying to deal with her memory loss was hard to do.

He'd observe her, when she thought he wasn't watching. He'd catch her staring endlessly at photos of her dead husband. Running her fingers over them, pressing them against her cheek, trying desperately to conjure up some image, some feeling that simply wouldn't come.

Frustrated by her failure, he'd hear her curse and pound her fists into the log walls of the cabin. Sometimes until they bled.

"Stop it!" he yelled one day, unable to watch her any longer. He physically held her back so she'd no longer be able to harm herself. "What the hell are you trying to accomplish?"

"I can't do this…" she protested, her eyes full of anger. "I can't go on living not knowing one damn thing about myself and the kind of person I was…"

"Why does it mean so much?" he asked, genuinely wanting to know.

She pointed to the manila folder, dog-eared already from the countless times she had gone through it. "Because…because I can't believe this. This _isn't_ me…I don't believe I could have done this."

Bart shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe the amnesia changed you. Maybe you're not the same person you were before, who knows."

"No," Anna shook her head, with staunch defiance. "I might not remember a thing about my past, but I _know_ I couldn't have done this."

Her unwavering certainty was strong enough to create doubts of his own for the first time, even though he didn't voice them aloud. "The facts are there, Anna, whether you want to accept them or not is up to you," was all he said.

"If it _is_ true, then I don't want to live," she told him, softly and matter-of-factly.

Bart had to admit he wasn't prepared for her intensity of her emotions. Or for the sheer force of her personality.

Her inability to remember her past took its toll on her. More so than Bart would have imagined possible. There were days, during those first three weeks, when she refused to leave her bed, at all. And other days when her frustrations ran so high, it felt like a palpable, tangible object, sharing the cabin with them.

Bart would yell at her when she started breaking things in frustration, including his painstakingly installed windows. Although it was hard to stay angry at her when she did such a great job at beating herself up. Or when her attempts to remember left her with such blinding headaches, she was doubled over in pain.

Bart had never been particularly sensitive, or compassionate. In fact, he'd be the first to admit that he'd become a grouch in his old age. That said, even he had his limits.

He'd never forget the day when he finally reached his breaking point.

The day he approached her and grabbed her arms. "Jesus Christ, you're killing yourself, Anna. I can't stand to watch it anymore. It's making _me_ ill. You've got to forget abut the past and start thinking about the future, if you want to have one."

"I can't…"

"Oh yes, you can." He handed her a hunting rifle that day. "You're going to stop this madness and focus on something else. Make yourself useful and help me get us enough food for the winter."

She gave him a sullen look, "What makes you think I can hunt?"

"We'll find out won't we?" he quipped.

He watched her load the rifle with expert precision, examining the weapon and holding it in her arms; to make sure it felt comfortable there before heading into the woods with it. Bart knew that in the WSB, Anna's area of expertise was explosives; the setting and diffusion of incendiary devices. It was ironic, he thought, that her life as she knew it, ended because of an explosion.

He took pleasure in watching her load the rifle. Although she may not have been able to tell him what her favourite colour was, or whether she preferred beef or chicken, she instinctively knew how to handle a firearm.

In fact, Bart decided that taking her hunting was the best thing he'd done since bringing her to the cabin. Her marksmanship was outstanding and her eyesight and speed were far better than his own. Their first outing netted them an elusive white tailed deer, along with two partridges. It was the largest catch since he'd shot a fox the week before.

In the next few weeks, he taught her how to skin the game they caught and cure the meats, before storing them in the root cellar below the cabin. He also taught her how to build a fire and make a temporary shelter in the bush, using only lichens and cast off branches. How to manoeuvre a canoe through the lakes and rivers that surrounded and them, and how to portage it around whatever rapids they encountered. How to distinguish between the berries and mushrooms that were edible and those that would kill her. In short, he taught her how to survive in his part of the world.

"How do you know all this stuff anyway?" she asked him, one Fall afternoon, when the two of them were sitting on the rocky shore of a small, unnamed lake. "Were you raised by wolves?"

Bart chuckled. She had a subtle sense of humour, that he was only starting to appreciate. "I told you, my mother was half Native, Metis actually. That means mixed French and Cree ancestry. There's a Native reservation about an hour from here, by canoe. We can go some day if you want. It's mostly Ojibwa that live there nowadays, not Cree."

Anna didn't answer him and Bart knew why. She hated talk of the future, because she had no idea what to do with hers. He knew she didn't want to stay here, but at the same time she was well aware that she had no place else to go.

She stared at the dense, deciduous forest that surrounded the lake. The Fall colours were brilliant and indescribably beautiful and Bart couldn't imagine a painter attempting to replicate them. If he saw a photograph of the colours in front of them, he'd insist it was faked or doctored; that nature couldn't possibly be this vivid and vibrant.

"What are you thinking?" Bart asked her, watching the wind wrap her long, dark hair around her jacket. She had to be awed by the beautiful landscape.

"Nothing."

"You look deep in thought..."

"I know you only tolerate me because you don't know what else to do with me. That you don't care less whether or not I remember my past."

The accusation had come out of nowhere, but it was surprisingly devoid of bitterness.

"I don't blame you," she said, as if reading his mind. "How can I, if I did only half the things mentioned in that folder?"

Bart didn't know what to say to that. "The red is mostly maple," he rambled. "It's beautiful isn't it? They only turn that colour in this part of the continent, nowhere else in the world. When Europeans come here they can't believe it, because their own maple trees only turn yellow, orange at best. Here they're as red as a poppy."

"I've been to Europe," she told him, still staring into the distance. "According to your folder I was born in England, I worked and honeymooned in France, I've had been on assignment in Italy… with a man I can't remember. A man that I married."

She didn't say anything else, and Bart watched her wipe away silent tears.

Had she begged and pleaded with him to believe that she was innocent, it would most likely have left him cold but the fact that she was so damn ready to accept the blame and suffer the consequences, no matter how much it hurt, _was _starting to get to him.

It had been a long time since he'd lived with a woman, and frankly, he could have gone the rest of his life without doing so again. He'd been married once. It lasted for fifteen years. Until he'd come home from an assignment and found her in bed with one of her co-workers.

For Bart, marriage was a one time deal. After it failed, he decided that life without the opposite sex was a better option for him. It was definitely a lot less complicated.

And there he was, sitting on the shores of a beautiful, dark blue lake with a woman who couldn't be more complicated if she tried. Yet, at the same time, she was also as frank and direct as any woman he had ever met. He pulled out a cigarette and offered Anna one, which she promptly declined. "I guess we know you weren't a smoker."

"Maybe I was. Maybe it's like the rest of me. Different after the explosion. Before I was a cold-blooded traitor, now I suddenly have a conscience."

Bart exhaled the smoke out into the crisp, clear air. "Jesus Christ…are you ever going to stop being so bloody hard on yourself? You have no control over when or _if_ your memory's going to come back, why torture yourself?"

She had stood up then, tossing a rock into the lake. Watching it skip across the surface of the water for six jumps until it sank into its depths. "You don't understand…you couldn't even begin to try," was all he heard her mumble, a trace of bitterness in her voice this time.

"Don't worry, I won't try and understand you."

They made an unspoken pact that day. She'd help him ready the cabin for winter, a task that took almost all their free time and, in turn, he let her stay on with him, providing her with whatever she needed.

Bart often wondered whether there was a precise moment in time when his hostility towards her changed to tolerance and when the tolerance changed to friendship. Maybe it had been after dinner one night, when one of his jokes elicited her deep, rich laugh, making him realize that he couldn't imagine never hearing it again. Or maybe it wasn't any one particular moment but rather the sum of all the endless time they spent together.

He sensed that she'd begun to accept her fate. There were entire days now when the manila folder lay untouched in her room, and she stopped pushing herself to remember. The two combined seemed to have a positive effect on her health. Her headaches became less frequent, often not making an appearance for weeks at a time.

Even so, Bart had to admit; she had been right, on that Fall day, when she stood on the rocky shore of the unnamed lake. He _didn't_ understand her then, and he _wouldn't_ understand her until many months later.

Until the day she saved his life.

It was an ordinary Spring day, and the two of them had gone fishing in the canoe. Usually he'd insist that Anna put on a life jacket, because, it still hadn't gotten warm enough for them to test whether or not she could swim. But that day, he'd been too excited about a new lure he bought and he'd forgotten to remind her.

He remembered standing up in the canoe, in an attempt to untangle his rod, when he suddenly lost his balance and fell into the water.

It should have been nothing more that a mishap, resulting in wet clothes and aggravation, and maybe Anna laughing at him. But it wasn't.

The place where he fell was full of seaweed and underwater vegetation. It quickly entangled him. And the more he struggled, the more entangled he got.

From under the water, Bart could see the outline of the canoe above him. Less than ten feet of water covered him. He tried to stay calm, and methodically loosen himself from the knots of vegetation around his limbs, but his lungs were starting to burst and a sense of panic crept into his mind.

He used every ounce of strength get himself back to the surface, but he couldn't hold his breath any longer and felt his lungs protest vehemently as the first ounce of water entered them. At that point, there was no doubt in his mind; _he was going to drown_.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt Anna's arms around him, cutting the entrails of the vegetation off, with his hunting knife, loosening him from it and pushing him to the surface. Bart gasped for air, not resisting when Anna pulled him to the shore.

Even once he was on land, he couldn't stop coughing, feeling as though he was heaving his lungs out of his body. He saw Anna sitting next to him, as soaked as he was.

"What the hell did you do?" he told her angrily, catching his breath. "You had no idea whether you could swim or not? You could have killed yourself!"

Anna shook her head in disbelief. " A simple 'thank you' would do."

"Why in the world would you jump in after me?"

She got up and shivered in the light wind, "What's your problem? Do you want me to throw you back in?"

"You don't make sense, Anna."

She didn't let him finish, "Was I supposed to let you drown, 'cause that's what you expect of me?"

Bart knew he'd hurt her, not just from the bitterness in her voice, but in the way her eyes narrowed and darkened. "That's not what I meant…" he started, but she was right, it _was_ exactly what he meant to say. Anna Scorpio was the last person he'd have expected to jump in and save someone's life at the risk of her own.

"Look, don't bother analysing what I did," she told him, still shivering in her wet clothes. "I saw you fall and jumped in after you. Maybe if I'd given myself two seconds to think it over, I wouldn't have done what I did…"

"But that's exactly it…" he realized, staring at her. "You first instinct was to save me…_without a thought_. You didn't even know whether you could swim…there's no way, Anna…"

"No way what?"

"There's no way you could have done what it says in that folder that the WSB compiled on you…I don't believe it anymore. I don't believe you were a cold, calculating traitor…there's no way, Anna."

Anna averted his gaze now, staring instead at the canoe that was drifting aimlessly in the middle of the lake.

"Anna, are you listening to me?" Bart wanted her to say something, _anything_.

She got up, and extended her hand to him, to help him up. "We should try and get the canoe…"

"Anna, did you hear a word of what I said?"

"It doesn't matter."

Bart stood, on shaky legs, his lungs still gasping for air. "How can you say that? I finally understand what you were trying to tell me all this time, how you knew in your heart that what that folder says couldn't be true. You might not remember anything about your past, but you knew that you weren't capable of that...I never thought to question the WSB. But I should have. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt…I'm sorry that I never even gave you that, Anna."

Her face was expressionless as she looked at him. She took off her wet jacket and shoes. "I'm going to try and get the canoe, before it drifts too far away, now that we know I can swim."

Bart grabbed her by the arm, "Are you listening to anything I've said?"

She brushed off his arm, " Maybe you're not listening to _me_… I said it doesn't matter anymore."

"Dammit Anna, you're living here, in the bush, in the middle of nowhere, like a fugitive. A hermit… instead you've got to search for the truth. Why you were really on that boat with Cesar Faison? What caused the explosion?"

"How would I do that? Should I ask my husband? Or maybe I should try and remember? My husband is dead, Bart. Faison is dead, and two of your agents are dead, all because I was on that boat. What does it really matter _why_?"

Bart hadn't expected his revelation to make her angry. "What about that man that ran the PI agency with you, just before you left Port Charles…Sean Donely? Maybe he knows something, maybe he could help you remember?"

"What if I put him danger by contacting him? Apparently, this man was my friend and business partner. If I try to go back into the States I'll be charged with treason, that is if the WSB doesn't kill me first…I don't want to put this man's life at risk because of me. Too many people have already lost their lives because of me…" She was crying again now, her anger mingling with frustration and regret.

Bart observed her, wanting to kick himself for his blind allegiance to the WSB. Her very words were further testament to who she really was. She was ready to give up her freedom, as long as it meant no one else would be harmed. 'Some double agent…' he thought ruefully.

"You're young, Anna. Young and smart and beautiful. You can't just give up and live the rest of your life with a cranky, old man in the bush."

"Maybe if I had something to go back to, someone to make it worth the fight…but you said it yourself. There's no one."

Bart remembered the photograph of the young girl at her parent's memorial service. The young girl who would have to face her teenage years with neither a mother nor a father. "What if you _did_ have someone, Anna?" he asked her softly.

"It would be different…but I don't."

He suddenly knew that if he told her about Robin, there would be no holding her back. She would return to the States without a thought as to the repercussions. 'I could be sending her to her death, by telling her about Robin. How can I keep this from her, knowing what I know now, and yet will I risk her very life by telling her?'

He saw that she was crying, as she sat back down on the limestone rock, releasing the tension she'd held in. Bart moved next to her, wrapping his arms around her for the first time. "I'm sorry, Anna. I've treated you terribly ever since we met, and you didn't deserve it. I'm so sorry." He wasn't good with words, and he knew it. But he wanted her to know he truly was sorry.

He didn't sleep for an entire week after that day.

The knowledge that he was keeping her daughter's existence a secret kept him awake with guilt, until one morning, exhausted and drained, he forced himself to make a decision.

'Either tell her now, or never tell her,' he told himself. 'Either way you're going to have to live with the consequences. If I tell her, I could be responsible for her demise. If I don't and she finds out somehow, on her own, she'll never forgive me.'

It was the hardest decision he had ever made.

In the end, he decided the risk of telling her was simply too great. 'It's up to you now,' he said, to any higher power that cared to listen. 'If you want her to know, you're going to have to tell her. If you don't, I'll take it to mean that I made the right choice.'

In the months and years that followed, Anna remembered virtually nothing of her past, and for the most part, she appeared to accept her new life, as lonely and unforgiving as their environment could be. He often took her to a nearby Native reservation, to give her a chance to mingle with others.

Anna had a natural charm and ease with others, that Bart knew he lacked. As a result she'd soon made more friends there than Bart ever would, in spite of his blood connections. Observing her with others made him feel regret sometimes. No matter how much she convinced him otherwise, Anna craved human interaction. She was an ex-police commissioner, a mother, a wife…a woman with a vibrant, outgoing personality and now she lived the life of a hermit, only because he did.

"If you want to move to the reservation, or even further south to Sioux Lookout, tell me," he often suggested, out of growing love for her.

"You'd miss your little cabin in the middle of nowhere."

"It's your life too, Anna."

"What's left of it…"

"Don't say that…" It bothered him when she said things like that, even in jest.

One year, shortly before Christmas one of his mother's relatives had mentioned that their dog had given birth to an unusually large litter. It gave him an idea, and he'd asked for one of the pups.

He still remembered the way Anna's face lit up when she first saw him, "Oh Bart! Isn't he the most adorable creature you've ever seen?" She had picked up the tiny grey, husky and held his face next to hers. He licked it, in an immediate gesture of acceptance, making her laugh.

"Consider him a Christmas gift," Bart explained.

"But I didn't get you anything," she protested, "Since when do we exchange gifts?"

"Maybe we should…" he said softly. _Maybe I should've made an effort a long time ago to give you something resembling a normal life. _

"This is an amazing gift, Bart. He's incredible," she kissed his cheek. "Thank you so much for this." She set the dog down on the snow, and his large black paws left behind sizeable prints, in spite of his small size.

"Does he have a name?" Anna asked him.

"His name is Wapusk. It means polar bear in Cree."

Anna raised her eyebrows, "Wapusk? _Polar bear_? He's a _dog_, Bart! Isn't that like buying a hamster and calling him Rabbit?" She sunk down to her knees in the snow and nuzzled the dog's ears, "Poor thing, you're going to grow up with an identity crisis." She paused as she thought about what she had said, grinning at the eager animal. "In that case, it looks like you and I are going to be good friends, because I know what it feels like to think you're something you're not, Wappie."

Bart laughed at her abbreviation of his name.

Sometimes Bart was convinced that Anna was genuinely content. After all, an isolated life in the wilderness was still better than life in prison or death. Other times Bart was certain that she merely did a good job at convincing him she was happy here.

More than anything, Bart decided that Anna Scorpio was a survivor. She knew what her situation was and adapted to it as best as she knew how. Yet, there was another side to her too. She had moments when she retreated into herself, into places that were so dark and morose, it frightened him.

He would never forget the day she didn't want to go hunting with him. She'd told him she had a headache and asked to stay back at the cabin.

When Bart got back from his hunting trip, the first thing he saw was the husky, outside, wailing pitifully, doing something he never did. The dog was trying desperately to get inside the cabin. It clawed at the closed wooden door and Bart immediately knew something wasn't right.

Anna would never ignore him like that. He ran inside and found her on the floor of the cabin, leaning against the sofa, her face pale and tear streaked, an almost empty bottle of brandy next to her. The dog followed Bart inside

He dropped both the rifle and the two dead grouse that were in his hands and kneeled down next to Anna, shaking her. " Jesus Christ! What the hell are you doing?"

"I just want the pain to go away…" she mumbled drunkenly.

"Is it the headache…it is that bad, Anna?" He had made her stand up, only to see her stumble clumsily.

"Everything…all the pain…I want it to go away, Bart."

Only then did he remember the pain medication the reservation's fly- in doctor had prescribed for her. 'Jesus, tell me you didn't mix it with the liquor,' he thought, his hands trembling as he looked for it. He found the small, green bottle on the floor next to the brandy. The fact that he knew she didn't like to take them, even when she felt terrible, offered him some consolation.

He shook her again, "How many did you take, Anna?"

"It doesn't matter…nothing matters in my life," her voice was barely louder than a whisper and he strained to hear her.

"Tell me, dammit!" He slapped her, hard enough to make her coherent but not hard enough to hurt her.

"I told you it doesn't matter…"

He looked at the bottle. It was a new prescription, so he expected it to be almost full.

It was half empty.

If she'd taken as many as he thought she did, it was enough to make her violently ill, or worse, given the amount of alcohol she'd consumed.

Bart forced her to get up and walk, even as she protested. He led her down to the shore of the lake and splashed her face with the ice-cold water. Then he did the only thing that made sense to him. He made her throw up. And, afterwards, when she desperately wanted to lie down and sleep, he wouldn't let her, forcing her to eat something instead. "You're going to stay awake tonight, even if it kills you," he told her angrily, the irony of his statement not lost on him.

Only after sitting up with her the entire night, and making sure she didn't stop breathing, did he allow himself, and Anna, to fall asleep.

Part of him wanted to comfort her the next day. The thought that her despair was so great, she'd considered taking her own life tore at his heart. But his anger was just as strong, and he found himself yelling at her instead. "Don't ever do that again, Anna. Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"Please...not so loud…" she groaned, as she faced the worst hangover of her life.

"After what you put me through, I'll yell as loud as I damn please…"

Looking at her still made him want to take her in his arms, but he was too angry. Angry with her for choosing to fight her demons herself, and angry with himself for not realizing the state of mind she'd been in before he left to go hunting yesterday. 'When am I ever going to understand people?' he questioned. 'Not _people_,' he corrected himself, 'When am I ever going to understand _her_?'

"I'm sorry…" she told him softly. "I don't know what happened yesterday. I just didn't want to feel anything anymore."

She bit her lip, fighting back tears. She hated to cry in front of him.

Looking at her, Bart felt his anger subside. She looked as miserable as she did when she first came here.

He sat down next to her, "I'm sorry Anna, I'm sorry that it still hurts so much. If you'll let me...if there's anything I can do..."

"I know."

"You're like a daughter to me, Anna," he confessed. "My best friend…my _only_ friend. If I lost you, I don't know what I'd do."

She didn't cry, and gave him a lop-sided smile instead. "I'm sorry, I put you through that. What happened yesterday…it won't happen again."

"Promise me?"

Anna nodded solemnly, "Promise."

Bart believed her. Her word meant something.

Then, nearly a year later, and Bart was certain it _was_ exactly a year later, to the day, Anna's memory finally showed signs of coming back. As if God wanted to reward her for her persistence and her endurance.

Reward or punish, Bart wasn't sure anymore which it was.

All he knew was that once she started to remember, _everything_ changed.

_Lyrics from - 'I am who I am' by Lara Fabian_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_Northern Ontario, Canada _

_Present Day_

Bart checked the time on his Timex watch. It was almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He'd eaten lunch and gone outside to chop another dozen logs for his winter supply. When he came back inside, he saw that Anna was still asleep. He knew he had to wake her soon, so she could eat something and get ready for what he needed her to do.

It would get dark soon. The sky was letting them know that the depths of winter were approaching more rapidly with every day that passed.

Bart took off his thick, nylon jacket and boiled himself some water for a coffee. Thanks to the roaring fire, it was much warmer in the cabin than he would have liked. 'But what I want doesn't matter,' he thought. 'She needs the warmth.'

Fourteen years ago he couldn't have imagined having another person influence his every decision. Nor would he ever have imagined caring about someone else so much that his own needs suddenly took a back seat to hers.

'Another hour,' he decided. 'Then I'll wake her up.'

When it was ready, Bart poured the boiling water into a large mug, and added two spoons of instant coffee and some condensed milk. Then he sat down on the old wooden, rocking chair with it, blowing into the mug to reduce the heat of the coffee.

He stared at Anna, who was quiet in her sleep.

'What am I going to do with you?' he wondered. 'Do I really have the guts to go through with the decision I made last night?'

Unlike Anna's memories which were scattered and fragmented, his own were all too clear as his mind drifted back to the day she first began to remember.

-

_One year earlier_

-

"This one's mine," she challenged him.

Bart could barely see the partridge in the distance. It had eluded them for over three hours and he had to admit if one of them was actually going to shoot the damn bird before the day ended, it certainly wasn't going to be him. "This one's not meant to be dinner. If he were, we'd have caught him an hour ago," he told her.

"He's challenging us, that's all," she replied with a grin. The husky walked next to her, wagging his tail in anticipation of the end of the hunt.

"You're wrong this time, sweetheart. He values his freedom too much. He's not ready to give it up."

"He's a bird, for Gods' sake. Besides, I'm never wrong." Anna looked at the dog, who acknowleded her statement by cocking his head. "Right, Wappie? You're on my team for good reason."

She'd been in a mischievous mood all day and Bart was enjoying it. It reminded him of the banter he used to share with his colleagues at the WSB. "You're a woman, you're never right…" he shot back, knowing the look it would elicit.

She laughed, that deep, rich laugh that he liked more than he'd ever admit. And before he had a chance to rile her some more, Bart watched Anna raise the rifle and shoot the bird, even though it was hidden so well that he couldn't even see it.

He heard it fall in the bushes ahead of them, and Anna gave him a victory smile. "Looks like he was meant to be dinner after all."

Bart rolled his eyes. "It's good to know you'll at least need me around to cook the damn bird." While he was no match for her skills with the rifle; her marksmanship was on par with some of the best agents he had ever worked with, Anna's skills in the kitchen were beyond atrocious. He'd let her cook for him only once when he'd been too sick to stand and he was convinced that her efforts had nearly succeeded in finishing him off. He vaguely remembered a vension steak that had been burnt on the outside, and nearly raw on the inside. Oversalted on one half, and inexplicably bland on the other.

Bart grinned as he watched the husky help her retrieve the partridge from the bushes.

"What was that about women never being right? Were you saying some…" He watched as she stopped in mid-sentence, one of her hands moving to her forehead.

"Ah…"

He ran towards her when he saw her close her eyes and stumble against the nearest tree. The sudden, intense headache surprised him. Her health had been exceptionally good and she hadn't had one in weeks.

"What's wrong?" he asked, moving her hand away from her face.

"I saw him…" she whispered, wide-eyed.

"You saw who?"

"I saw Robert…I saw my husband. He was on the ship and he called my name. I wanted to run towards him but I couldn't."

"What else?"

She held on to Bart, her hands resting his shoulders, "That's it. I just saw him standing on the deck, looking at me and then there was this incredibly loud noise and this... unbearable heat surrounded us. And after that, nothing..."

She was remembering the explosion. After all these years, she finally had a memory of her past. As short as the memory was, it was _something_. Bart would never forget the hope in her eyes that afternoon.

"Do you think this means I could start to remember other things as well?"

He looked at her, hesitant, "I don't know, Anna."

The next memory came two months later, on an unusually warm, Fall evening, when they'd been sitting outside having dinner. This time the memory was longer and more detailed. "I remember a wedding," she told him, breathlessly, "It was outside, on the garden grounds of a large estate. The sky was so blue, Bart, and there were so many people. I wore a pink dress, of all things, and I was so happy…" Like the previous memory, this one too was accompanied by a blinding headache that didn't allow her to finish her meal. The pain was a price Anna gladly paid, and because she cherished every little thing she remembered, Bart could not help but be happy for her.

The memories become more frequent after that and, without fail, they always involved Robert. "I can see him now," Anna told him. "See him and _hear_ him," she added with a smile. "He had a cocky grin and Australian accent. I can remember the touch of his skin against mine. The way his eyes narrowed when he was upset and that he called me luv."

Bart knew it was only a matter of time before Anna would start to remember Robin. He wished he knew what triggered the memories, so as to better prepare her for them, but they seemed to come out of nowhere. Whether she was in the middle of doing something or even asleep, the memories came at will.

As the memories become more frequent, they also became more painful.

"I can't stand to see you like this anymore," Bart told her after one particularly painful memory left her breathless, doubled over in pain. The pills rom the reservation doctor had virtually no effect anymore. "You've got to see a doctor, Anna."

"The headache will go away," she protested. "It always does."

It was true, they did. But that didn't reassure him. What if they were to trigger something worse? A seizure? Or even a stroke? What would he do then, here in the middle of nowhere?

"Maybe he can give you something else to take," Bart suggested. "What if something happens to you when you're out in the bush alone?"

She eventually agreed to see the Metis fly-in doctor that serviced the Native reservation near them.

The doctor was a kind, patient old man who kissed Anna's cheeks when he saw her outside his practice. He hoisted a young Native boy off his doorstep in order to avoid stepping over him, before leading Anna and Bart into the examination room. "It's so good to see you again, Anna, but I wish it were it were different circumstances bringing you here."

Anna shrugged her shoulders before giving Bart a look, "It's really not that bad. What did he tell you?"

"Bart told me the truth. You have to realize I can't just prescribe something else for you without knowing what's causing your headaches. All those years ago, you suffered from a serious head trauma. You had prolonged amnesia, and yet you've never gone for follow-up check-ups with a neurologist. It's a travesty, Anna!"

Anna backed up, knowing where this would lead. "If you won't give me anything for the pain, then this is pointless."

"Anna, you have to go to Thunder Bay or even Toronto for further tests. I can't do an MRI here!"

"You know that's not an option."

The doctor had then glared at Bart, as if offended by the notion that he was blind to their situation.

"I know you're here illegally, Anna. That you don't have an Ontario health card. But there are ways around that. Exceptions are made, and I can help you make them."

"I can't risk any digging into my past," Anna told him in no uncertain terms. "I'm sorry I've wasted your time, Doctor."

"Anna, please…you can't take this lightly."

And just as she was about to head out the door, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Bart watched as she closed her eyes and held on to the door frame.

She stood in there in silence for what felt like an endlessly long moment, her face etched in concentration.

"Oh my baby…my little girl."

_She was remembering Robin. _Bart was certain of it.

Knowing what that meant terrified him. As did Anna's reaction to the memory.

One of her hands was pressed against her temple now and her knees were starting to buckle.

Were it not for the doctor's quick reaction, she'd have fallen to the ground. Instead, the doctor helped her onto the examing bed, as did Bart once he realized what was happening.

The doctor squeezed Anna's hand. "It's okay, Anna. You're going to be alright. Try and keep your eyes open for me, can you do that?"

Anna groaned, unable to meet his request. Her fists were tightly clenched as she fought against the pain. Bart hated feeling so helpless.

The doctor however was calm. "It's okay, sweetheart. Just take a deep breath for me." Tiny drops of perspiration had formed on her forehead. The doctor's voice was gentle. "Tell me, on a scale from one to ten. How bad is it?"

"Nine," she told him through clenched teeth.

"You're going to be alright, Anna," he acknowledged, pulling out a syringe from a drawer that was missing a handle. "I'm going to give you something for the pain. It'll make you feel drowsy once it takes effect, okay?"

She nodded, tears in her eyes.

Bart turned away. Unable to see her like this.

The doctor waited until she relaxed and her breathing steadied, then he put a hand on Bart's shoulder, "Let's step outside for a minute."

"Is she...?"

"Better."

The doctor led him out of the examination room.

"She had a memory..." Bart tried to explain.

"I gathered as much." His face didn't mask his irritation. "If that wasn't proof to you that she needs medical care, Bart..."

"I can't..." Bart started, but the doctor cut him off.

"What she's going through is incredible!" he exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. "She's starting to remember her entire life. She needs professionals, neurologists, psychologists, you name it, to help her through with this. She needs to see people who knew her before the amnesia, anyone, even a distant cousin if there's no one else. And the severity of her headaches is frightening. She needs to have immediate, extensive tests done to determine whether the cranial activity is harmful…I can't do that here. If you care for this woman, you have to find a way to do this for her."

"Her life could be in jeopardy if the wrong people find out where she is…"

"Judging from what I witnessed in the examining room, her life is already in danger! Let me make some phone calls and see what we can do about at least arranging for an MRI to start…"

Bart raised his hand, "No! I won't have it."

"I'm a doctor, I won't stand by and watch you do nothing. It's criminal."

"A week…give me a week."

"Then what?"

"Please. Trust me on this. Anna's like a daughter to me. I'll do whatever it takes for her but going through the provincial bureaucracy in order to get access to health care is not the only option."

The doctor eyed him with obvious doubt, but eventually conceded, knowing there was nothing he could do with either of their consent. "Fine. In ten days, I want you to come back with her. Tell me what you've done. In the meantime, I'll give her something stronger for the pain."

"Thank you."

And three days later, Bart had found her lying in a forest clearing, unconscious after being struck by yet another memory.

-

_Present Day_

_-_

Bart finished the last sip of his coffee, just as he saw Anna finally wake up.

He chuckled. "For a while there I thought you were going to join the bears and hibernate until spring."

She yawned, "Not a bad idea."

"How are you feeling?"

She nodded, "Good."

"Headache?"

She shook her head, "It's gone. It always goes away. I wish you wouldn't worry."

'Too late,' he thought. "I want you to eat something."

She cringed as if the thought alone made her nauseous. "I'm not hungry."

"It wasn't a question," he countered. "I'm going to get some food and you're going to eat it. Then I want you to get dressed, we're going to Bear Lake."

Bear Lake was the nearby Native reservation. "Tonight? Why? Isn't it too late?"

"I want you to pack some clothes and essentials. You're going to stay with Joseph's family while I go on a little trip."

"What are you talking about?" she gave him a puzzled look.

"I won't leave you here alone, not with what's been happening recently."

"But why are you going away?"

He looked at her sadly, "I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago. I'm going to help you get your life back."

_Antwerp, Belgium_

"_Senor Cortez, hacer el negocio con usted, fue un placer, como siempre_."

Cesar Faison opened the doors of his office for the Mexican, giving him the most pleasant smile he could muster. He hated the insincere courtesies that were needed to procure business for the DVX, and it took every ounce of his willpower to go through with the motions.

The Mexican raised his hat, as he left the room. "The pleathure, Senor Faithon, wath all mine," he replied in English. He had a lisp and Faison cringed each time he heard it.

Jan gave his boss a small victory smile, once the man was out of sight. "That's quite the deal you netted us. He's hiring seven agents over a period of twelve months. If all goes well, he'll never use anyone but us."

"I'm contemplating nixing the deal, if it means I never have to hear that voice again."

Jan managed a nervous laugh, unsure whether he was kidding or not.

"That conversation damaged my ears, Jan. I don't know why that man insists on pretending he can speak English." He gave him a deep, irritated frown, "But enough about Cortez. If anything good came out of this meeting this afternoon, it's that it has given us sufficient financing to allow me to return to the things that truly matter."

This time it was Jan who cringed. "Please tell me you're not considering going after Alexandra Marick again. I would think the last attempt we made to kidnap her should have been a lesson…"

"Not a 'lesson' my friend… 'a learning experience'. One that has taught me not to make the same mistakes twice."

Jan shook his head in frustration and Faison knew he was biting his tongue.

He knew his boss well enough to know he could express an honest opinion, but he also knew that in this case it would be an exercise in futility.

"I know what you're thinking. You think I'm a fool…don't you?"

"You've never been a fool, I would never suggest it. We all have a weakness. Yours happens to be in the form of a woman."

Jan was right, in every sense of the word. When it came to Anna Devane Cesar Faison _was_ weak; because suddenly her world became his world, and the only thing that mattered was making sure that she never left his realm. It was an aching need that only grew stronger with the passage of time. He couldn't explain it to himself and most certainly not to someone else. "I know she's not Anna," was all he offered Jan.

Jan gave him a tiny frown in return, "Well, that's a start."

"But I have to see her again…hold her in my arms. Even if it's the last thing I do."

"I'll arrange for the flight tickets," Jan told him and said nothing else as he left the room.

Faison sat down on the antique French settee, lighting a cigarillo. He remembered the two weeks, in the early summer, when he'd observed Alexandra nearly every day, hidden in the bushes at the Wildwind estate. He hated the times he saw her together with Dimitri. Faison had come to loathe the man almost as much as Robert Scorpio. He'd thrown a sudden wrench in his plan, cornering him in the hotel stairwell in London, just as he had been about to flee with Alexandra.

But he genuinely enjoyed watching her with the boy, Maximillian. The boy intrigued Faison, even more so after his clever escape in Calais.

Physically he was a beautiful child, with a mop of thick, dark hair and a pair of equally dark eyes, full of endless curiosity. But physical beauty did little to hold Faison's interest if it wasn't accompanied by something else. Something _more_. From his observations, Faison decided that little Max was every bit as fiery and willful as his aunt had been. 'It seems like he should have been Anna's son,' he thought, 'In turn I can picture gentle Robin as Alexandra's daughter.'

And yet it was the other way around. 'Genetics,' Faison thought, frowning 'Who can figure it out?'

He took great amusement in the fact that, much to Dimitri's chagrin, Max hated riding and that the boy looked positively uncomfortable each time he sat in the saddle. 'That's my boy,' Faison had grinned one afternoon when he watched him resolutely shake his head as Dimitri tried to coax him onto one of his stallions.

The only time Max seemed remotely relaxed on a horse, was when his mother pulled him up onto her own stallion and wrapped her arms around him, in her saddle. The boy trusted her implicitly and Cesar Faison observed that trust with a mixture of fascination and envy.

He couldn't fathom trusting someone with his very existence, not even his own parents. 'Too bad you'll have to learn one day, that you can't trust anyone to keep you safe. Not even the mother you so obviously adore.'

It was hard for him to observe them when they were riding, and the fact that it appeared to be Alex's favorite form of recreation didn't make things easier. 'Thank god for Max's dislike of horses, or else I would never have a chance to watch them.' Sometimes he'd observe Alex, sitting by one of the three ponds on the estate, while Max splashed around in it, during the hot days of summer.

Faison would often spy on her then, watching her lean against a tree, trying to read while watching Max, and then noddng off in the warmth of the summer air. She fell asleep easily, almost too easily. It made him wonder about the state of her health, thinking that perhaps Jan had been right when he suggested that she could have had a pre-existing medical condition that made her react to the drugs he'd given her. But then, there were other days when he had seen her going for a ride in the early morning hours and not returning to Wildwind until midnight or later.

'She simply keeps impossibly long hours, expecting too much of herself. Just like Anna did.'

Now as he stood in his luxury apartment in Antwerp, he gazed westward, his mind already in the United States. "If it were up to me, you'd take batter care of yourself," he whispered aloud. "How can you possibly expect to have another child at this rate?"

He switched off the light in the study and made his way outside, wondering what his own child would look like, if he were ever blessed with one.

'A daughter,' he thought, absentmindedly. 'I think I would much rather have a little girl than a boy.'


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

_Wildwind Estate, Pine Valley, PA_

Dimitri Marick set down his briefcase in the hallway, loosened his tie, and made his way into the study.

"Anybody home?"

"Dad?"

Dimitri suddenly saw a mop of black hair jump out from behind the dark green sofa. He scooped Max into his arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What are you doing on the floor, behind the sofa?" He knew the answer to his question as soon as he peeked behind it and saw at least a hundred puzzle pieces scattered on the floor.

"It's a puzzle," Max explained. "It's the Eiffel tower in Paris. Robin gave it to me."

Robin still spent as much time as she could with Max and Dimitri loved her for it.

"Did you visit it when you lived in Paris with her?" Dimitri asked Max. He sat down on the floor and picked up a piece and stuck it to the rest of the puzzle.

Max gave him a grin, "Nah…Robin says only Americans go up there."

Dimitri laughed, "But you two _are_ Americans, even if you still sound like your Mom." Given Max's age, he knew his son's English accent would fade and that he would soon sound as American as Robin and himself. 'Time to teach him Hungarian,' he thought.

Max made himself comfortable on his father's lap and moved to piece together another puzzle part. "Mum said you weren't coming home until tomorrow."

It was true. Dimitri had planned to spend at least another day in Monaco, where one of his casinos was dangerously close, yet again, to falling into the hands of the local Mafia. Trying to keep the entire operation even marginally clean was a constant struggle. He didn't like to get personally involved in it and usually left it in the hands of his competent team of Monegasque managers. In fact, if its entire profits didn't go directly into the Andrassy Foundation, he would have sold the casino a long time ago. But owning it meant he had to make an occasional appearance there, to let his team know he was on their side, and on top of things.

So he'd spent the last two days meeting with men that he'd just as soon never see again. Following that he should have joined them a lavish party aboard one of their countless yachts. It would have been seen as a symbol of good faith and mutual co-operation.

"It's imperative that you attend the party," Serge, his casino manager, had told him, in Monaco. "It will be an acknowledgement of their activities, a willingness to turn a blind eye to certain things, as long as we remain in control of the general operation."

"I thought that was what all the meetings were for…" Dimitri sighed. "I've already given them more leeway than I feel comfortable giving them. Bloodsucking leeches that they are."

Serge Montand had laughed out loud. "You should be proud, Mr.Marick. Most other casinos are more than envious of our lack of mob involvement. The leeway you gave the Vicente family was marginal at best."

Dimitri had lit a cigar and offered him a frown; "The thought of spending yet another evening with these men is making me nauseous. I want to get back to my family."

"From what I hear about what they have planned, it's probably best that your wife and family are on the other side of the Atlantic..."

Dimitri groaned as he took a drag on the cigarette. There were limits to the sacrifices he was willing to make. "Well, that settles it. Please give Mario Vicente my regrets."

Serge chuckled, "Of course, Mr. Marick. I understand. Your family is very lucky."

"Oh no," Dimitri was suddenly enjoying his cigar much more. "I'm the lucky one."

And here he was, back at Wildwind, less than twelve hours later. He tousled his son's hair. "Where's your Mom?"

"Upstairs working." Max glanced at the grandfather clock in the study. "She said she's going to come to Sam's basketball game with me and Uncle Edmund. Now you can come too, Dad!"

Dimitri rubbed his temples, feeling the first twinges of jetlag. "Maybe…let me see your mom first."

"It would be nice if you came..." Max mumbled, his attention back on the puzzle. He barely noticed when Dimitri gave him a gentle push off his lap.

Dimitri made his way upstairs and slowly opened the door of the room that Alex had converted into a secondary office for the Andrassy Foundation. A smile formed on his lips, when he saw her asleep at the desk, her head resting on one of her arms.

He pulled a up a chair to sit next to her, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her breathing, for several long moments, as she slept. She was still wearing her glasses and Dimitri tried to remove them without disturbing her, but the gesture startled her awake.

She gasped when she saw him sitting next to her, raising her hands in an instinctual gesture of self-defence.

He took her hand in his, "Whoa…it's just me." It was always in sleep that she subconsciously revealed her fears to him. She still had frequent nightmares and it reminded him of the hold that her past would always have on her.

"Geez…you scared me to death," she told him, breathlessly, running her fingers through her hair.

"What happened to 'Welcome home, honey' ?" he grinned.

She locked her eyes with his and gave him a smirk, "What _are_ you doing home?"

"That still doesn't sound like 'Welcome home, darling.'"

"Oh geez…you…" She reached out to pull him towards her, and kissed him deeply.

"That's better…"he conceded. "Try again. Maybe I'll forgive you altogether."

Alex laughed. "Blackmail? Is that what you picked up in Monaco?"

"If you only knew how close to the truth that is," he mumbled. "It's a strange place, Alex. On the outside it's all beautiful people, wealth and glamour but once you scratch the surface, there's this emptiness…"

Dimitri shivered as he rubbed his hands together, staring at Alex. He never tired of looking at her. "It's freezing in here," he suddenly realized, "Aren't you cold?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "If I turn on the heat, it makes me fall asleep too easily. I wanted to finish this report before I take Max to the basketball game…"

He thought of her asleep at the desk when he came into the room, "That plan really worked..."

He got up to turn on the heat, still shivering. He knew her anemia took a greater toll on her than she liked to admit, and the fact that she refused to modify her lifestyle only compounded her exhaustion. "You know you're anemic, right?" he tried, knowing it was pointless to ask her to take it easy, especially when he was just as much of a workaholic as she was. Her passion for her work was an essential part of her. It was one of the many things he loved about her.

She took her glasses out of his hands, attempting to make one last effort to focus on the computer screen. "Anemia? Really?"

"Dear god, your hands are ice-cold!" He took them into his own, after she reluctantly turned off the computer.

"You know what they say about cold hands…" she grinned, moving them underneath his shirt.

"Stop that!"

She laughed, climbing onto his lap. "You know you love it."

"I love_ you_."

"I love you more."

"Not possible." He pulled her closer, and started to unbutton her silk blouse, as she did the same with his shirt. He could never get enough of her touch. No matter where in the world he was, it was a desire that always accompanied him.

His lips followed the opening of each button of her blouse, moving lower while her hands massaged his shoulders, easing away the tension in them.

"We should close the…" Alex whispered into his ears, her breathing heavy. She couldn't finish as Max came barging through the door.

"Mum, Uncle Edmund's ready…" Max announced, before stopping in mid-sentence to stare at them.

Dimitri gave Alex a rapid push off his lap, his cheeks suddenly flushed with warmth.

"What are you doing?" Max asked with a smirk that suggested he might have an idea.

"It was hot in here…really hot…" Dimitri explained.

Alex chuckled, as she buttoned her blouse back up. "Your Dad helped me...cool down."

Dimitri watched Alex trying to read her son's dark, clever eyes, her own letting him know she was well aware that he was on to them. "Give us five minutes…tell Edmund we'll be down in five…"

"Actually," Dimitri interrupted her, "Tell him we'll meet you at Sam's school. If you don't mind going ahead with Edmund and Sam. I need to have a talk with your Mom."

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Hey," Alex tilted her head towards him. "How about a kiss from my little Count?"

Max shook his head. "Nope. Maybe you can try and steal one later." And with that he made his way out the door.

Dimitri raised his eyebrows, "Stealing kisses?"

Before Alex could answer him, Max came back inside and planted a wet kiss on her cheek. She returned it with one of her own. " I thought I had to steal it?"

"In case you forget," he explained with a smirk and made his way out of the room for the second time, making a racket as he ran down the stairs.

"Those are all your genes, each and every one" Alex pointed out. "So you want to _talk_, do you?"

"Actually," his face suddenly took on a serious expression. "There _is_ something I wanted to discuss with you."

He took some pleasure in the look of disappointment on her face.

"Sounds serious."

He ran his fingers through his hair, fully feeling the fatigue of jet lag now, not sure how to word what he wanted to say.

"What is it?" she asked, her expression serious now too.

"Promise me you won't laugh?"

She shook her head, "Of course not. Tell me…"

"These last few days, even before I went to Monaco, I've had these strange feelings…I'm not sure how to explain them. But I have this feeling that something's going to happen and we have to watch out for it."

Alex looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He took her hand in his, "I didn't want to tell you about this. I don't want to worry you, but the feelings aren't going away. And I swore to myself, Alex, after those sensations, _premonitions_ if you will, that I had while you were held at Brynn Wydd, that I would never ignore them again. It's those same feelings that convinced me you were still alive, when everyone else tried to tell me I was crazy."

Alex bit her lip, shaking her head, "If this is going to be another discussion about hiring guards, I won't go there, Dimitri. We've already talked about this. We agreed that we couldn't live in fear, prisoners in our own home, under constant guard."

"I compromised with you on the guards, and I won't go there again, even though I still think you're wrong." The question of hiring round the clock guards again, as they'd done before Max's kidnapping had resulted in a heated argument between the two of them. One that lasted for a couple of days until, Dimitri, reluctantly, agreed to keep only their Head of Security, Shawn O'Malley, and three others, who would be solely responsible for keeping the estate secure. One big point in Alex's favour had been her argument that it was a bodyguard that had been largely to blame for Max's kidnapping.

"I've been thinking that you should carry a gun."

"What?" Alex drew back, "No way."

His lips tightened and Dimitri prepared to dig in his heels. "If this Faison decides to come after you again, I want you to be ready for him."

Her expression let him know it wasn't up for discussion. "I will _not_ carry a gun." She got up, ready to leave, "I don't want to be late for the Sam's game."

Her inability to compromise frustrated him, even though he knew it was a trait he shared. "You're not being fair, Alex. I'm asking you to do this for me and for your son, and you won't even _consider_ it?"

"You're right, I won't."

"Alex! For God's sake, you know how to use a firearm as well as any professional. If you carried a gun and someone were to threaten you, they wouldn't stand a chance!"

"That's not true and you know it. You want to keep a loaded gun in the house, with Max and the other kids around? Are you crazy?"

Dimitri had expected her to be resistant to the idea, but not this strongly. "Of course we wouldn't leave it lying around. At night when it's not on you, we'll lock it up or unload it, whichever you prefer."

"So if this intruder of yours comes at night, we'll be unarmed anyway…or should we ask him to hold on for a moment while I load the gun?"

"You're being ridiculous…"

"No, _you're_ being ridiculous! What if this intruder manages to get the gun from me? My situation will go from bad to worse."

"With your training he won't get it from you!"

"I said 'No'."

"Why?" Dimitri felt himself pounding his fist on her desk, "For God's sakes, why are you being so unreasonable about this?"

She stared back at him, in angry silence. "Why?" she finally replied, "I'll tell you why, because I swore to myself if I ever got away from Brynn Wydd and Charlotte…I would never…" she paused, taking a deep breath. "Guns, martial arts, firing ranges…that's not my world Dimitri, and I never want it to be my world again."

"I'm not asking you to join the CIA. I'm asking you to protect yourself!"

Alex turned around, away from his angry glance, "I'm leaving now. You should stay here. You're tired and jet-lagged."

Dimitri grabbed her arm, "Not until you tell me why you're being so stubborn."

"I would do just about anything for you, but not this."

He made her sit down. "Why? I'm asking you to protect yourself because I can't bear the thought of losing you again and you won't even listen to the idea? I don't understand…"

Alex got back up, trying to push him away, "I said I'm leaving..." Tears were were rolling down her cheeks now.

Dimitri put both hands on her shoulders, preventing her from going anywhere. Her reaction was classic Alex. She hated conflict. In order to avoid it she, literally, ran away from it. Of all the things he loved about her, this wasn't one of them. It was impossible to argue a point when the other party refused to listen. "I'm not letting you drive like this…you're upset and tired."

"Not letting me?" She brushed his hands off, "Stop treating me like a child."

"Stop acting like one and talk to me. At least tell me, _why_?"

"I don't want to argue about this."

"I'm not going to drop this until you're honest with me. Why are you so adamant? Don't you want to make sure your son doesn't lose his mother?"

"Nice..." This time there was anger in her eyes. He'd touched a button. "I don't believe arming myself is the answer. It might be the American way but it's not _my_ way."

Dimitri shook his head; annoyed, "Don't you turn this into a political debate. This has nothing to do with our nationalities and everything to do with us." He hated seeing her cry. It always made him want to take her in his arms. Yet this time his instincts insisted this was too important an issue to drop.

"Let go of me…"

"If you won't tell me why tonight, you can tell me tomorrow. I'm not dropping this, Alex."

"What's gotten into you?" she asked him angrily. "All of sudden, you have some 'feeling' and you think we should live in fear?"

In spite of himself, his hand reached for her cheeks to wipe away her tears. "You're wrong. It's precisely because I don't want us to live in fear, that I want you to protect yourself. Now tell me, what the real reason is why you won't do this…"

"Can't you just let it go?" She sat down, defeated. He knew her so well. _Too _well.

He sat down next to her, putting his arm over her shoulders. He was frustrated and exhausted, but even so he didn't have it in him to stay angry with her. He rarely did. "I thought after all this time, we could be honest with one another."

"Fine, I'll tell you why." The look she gave him told him he wouldn't like the answer. "When we went to Brynn Wydd to try and rescue Max from Charlotte's compound…"

Dimitri's mind went back to that unforgettable day. The day he realized his son wasn't where he thought he was. The day he killed Charlotte Devane and Alex lost their unborn child.

It was one of the worst days of his life.

"I carried a gun that day, in the car, when I drove Bianca from the compound…if I hadn't, she would never have been able to shoot me." Alex's voice lowered itself to whisper, "Our child would be alive today…do you understand? Our baby _died_ because I had a damn gun in that car."

For the first time that evening, Dimitri couldn't meet her eyes, "I told you to carry a gun that day." His voice was softer her own, laden with sudden guilt.

"No," she put her hand on his chin, turning his face towards hers, her anger gone now. "That's not what I said. I make my own decisions, Dimitri. I did then and I'm doing it now. Because if anything were to happen, I don't want to ever blame you, or have you carry the guilt."

It was an irrational logic.

As long as she made her own decisions, even if they were wrong, he'd be free of any guilt. She was protecting him even as she refused to protect herself. He didn't know what to say, because it didn't make sense, but at the same time he _understood_.

Silent tears ran down her face again, and this time Dimitri kissed the top of her head before drawing her into his embrace.

"I'm sorry…" The words seemed too hollow to convey all the things they'd lost. Of all the time they'd lost. Not just time together, but time he lost with Max. And what about the child that never had a chance? Was it a girl? Or a boy? If it was a boy would he have been as gentle as Max? If it was a girl would she have been as smart as her mother?

If he let himself think about it, it tore at his heart, like nothing else could.

He held Alex close, grateful for that which he still had.

Suddenly an icy chill ran through his body. It was that same feeling again. Something malevolent was on its way and would change their lives forever, Dimitri was certain of it now.

He held Alex a little tighter still.

And he shivered.

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

Robin Scorpio walked out of the elevator, her white lab coat crisp and clean, as she signed in for the night shift. She thought of Max, sitting on the floor of the study at Wildwind doing the puzzle she bought for him and the image put a smile on her face.

She would have loved to join him and Alex, as well as Edmund, for Sam's basketball game, but instead she was stuck with yet another unexpected night shift. Sometimes she wondered whether her attempts to avoid any accusations of favoritism hadn't steered her too far in the other direction. The hospital staff knew about her connection to Alex and they assumed that implied certain benefits. That assumption didn't sit well with her and Robin wanted to prove it wrong.

'At St. Agathe I would've protested these constant shift changes a long time ago…' she thought. Night shifts meant her body had to adjust to different time frames for the cocktail of HIV medications she had to take daily. Of course her body didn't always adjust the way she'd have liked. If Alex knew, she probably would've stepped in and done something, but for precisely that reason, Robin made no mention of it to her aunt.

She glanced at her watch as she swallowed two little pink pills with a sip of water from the fountain. Four hours later, she would take another four, following some food.

Glancing down the hospital corridor, she caught a glimpse of David Hayward coming out of a patient's room. His stethoscope hung over a dark blue shirt and matching tie, complete with black pants and dress shoes. It was a stark difference from the rugged, outdoor clothes he'd worn when she first saw him.

According to Alex, he was no longer on staff full time. His time was largely taken up with the Andrassy Foundation and because of it he only had an advisory position in Cardiology now. Hayward turned around and his eyes met hers across the hallway, just before Robin glanced downward into the water fountain, hoping he wouldn't notice that she'd seen him.

She hadn't run into him since their first encounter in Alex's office and had no desire for that to change. From the corner of her eye she saw him approaching her and she tried to casually walk in the other direction.

"Robin! Doctor Scorpio…would you wait a moment, please?" he called out.

Robin frowned, "What can I do for you Doctor Hayward?"

He offered her a smile that was improbably cocky and apologetic all at once. "That day, in my office…look, I haven't had a chance to apologize to you. If you'll just hang on one moment, I have something for you."

"All I expect is an apology. Nothing more," she shot back, more defensive that she intended.

"Please…just wait one moment." He set down both his stethoscope and the clipboard he was holding and headed off towards the Andrassy Foundation office he shared with her aunt.

Robin's eyes followed him wordlessly as he made his way down the hallway. To say he was striking would have been an understatement. 'And those eyes,' Robin thought with a smirk, '_Bedroom eyes_. Definitely.'

'I bet he's got a whole slew of staff members pining after him…' Robin bit her lip. It was one of her mother's nervous habits. 'Not me,' she decided. 'Your looks don't impress me Hayward. An arrogant jerk is still an arrogant jerk, no matter how good looking.'

She saw a gold-coloured box in his hands as he made his way back to her.

He flashed her another smile. "Alex wouldn't tell me whether you preferred chocolates or flowers. So I brought you both…but I didn't see you for days, so the flowers, well, they're not in gift giving condition anymore..."

Robin said nothing as she observed him, surprised that he seemed oddly flustered.

Her arms were crossed as he tried to get her to take the box of chocolates.

"Here…"

She still made no effort to uncross her arms.

"You don't like chocolates then?" he asked awkwardly. "They're Belgian," he added, not knowing what to make of her reaction. "The salesman said they were the best he had."

"I _do_ like chocolates," she said, finally ending her silence.

"Then why won't you take these?" he asked her, and Robin could have sworn there was a touch of annoyance in his voice this time.

"I thought you said you wanted to apologize," she replied, matching his annoyance with irritation of her own. "All I see is you trying to push these chocolates into my hands. I haven't heard the slightest mention of an apology."

He looked taken aback, "I was going…"

"Look," Robin raised her hand, annoyed. "Why don't you just forget about it? The reason you're not making any efforts to apologize is because you're not actually sorry. People like you never see anything wrong with their actions and quite frankly, I don't care. Alex obviously put you up to this and if you like, you can tell her you apologized and I that took your silly chocolates. Otherwise, if you don't mind, I have a lot of work to do…"

Her insolence only served to further knock him off guard. He did the last thing Robin expected him to do: he stammered, "They're not _silly_…they're...they're Belgian."

"Fine," Robin finally grabbed the chocolates. "Just give me your silly _Belgian_ chocolates and consider yourself absolved…"

He looked at her in disbelief, "Hey...just a second…it's not as though I expected you to swell over with gratitude but I thought you might at least appreciate my efforts!"

Robin raised her eyebrows in equal disbelief, "Look, if you expect me to swoon just because you make some forced effort to make good with my aunt, you obviously mistook me for one of the many gushing women that I'm sure follow you around like hapless puppy dogs, undoubtedly in awe of your demi-god complex."

David Hayward's jaw dropped. "You are something else, Robin Scorpio. I thought Alex was a handful, but _you_…you…I don't even know where to start..."

"I'm not trying to be rude. I'm just telling you not to bother with a phoney apology. I'm trying to make things _easy_ for you!"

He raised his hands in a gesture of defeat, "Fine. Forget I bothered. It looks like you have me all figured out." David stared her, long enough to make Robin's cheeks flush. Then he shook his head and turned around without another word.

Robin watched him walk down the hallway.

"You _still_ didn't say you're sorry!" she yelled after him, knowing he wouldn't be able to hear. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration, "Ugh…why do feel like the bad guy here? And since when do I let myself get riled up like this?" Robin spotted a paramedic filling out a report on a chair near her. He gave her a smile that let her know he'd just observed the entire scene.

Robin bit her lips again and returned his smile with a lopsided one of her own. "Why am I letting you push my buttons like this, David Hayward?" she mouthed to herself. She glanced back at the paramedic and opened the box of Godiva chocolates. "Can I offer you a silly Belgian chocolate?"

He gave her another smirk, "Sure."

Robin dipped her own hand into the box and pulled out a dark, oval piece of chocolate. She couldn't help but grin as she took a bite of its crisp exterior, before letting its smooth, white filling melt over her tongue.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII**

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Come on, Joseph. I'm sure Bart told you where he was going. You have to let me know," Anna pestered.

The heavyset Native man grinned, lighting a cigarette as they sat outside on the snow covered porch of the Band Council's office. There'd been flurries all morning and now the village was covered in a layer of fresh snow. "I told you he didn't tell me. Now lay off me already."

Anna blew away the smoke that drifted towards her, "I _know_ he told you. Now tell me what it's going to take for you to tell _me_."

Joseph laughed, "I don't think you want the answer to that question."

Anna sighed. She knew that Joseph had a crush on her. She'd known for a long time now. People didn't have false pretences in these parts. If someone liked you they made it clear. Out of respect for him, Anna had made it equally clear that the feeling wasn't mutual. She'd have been lying to both of them if she suggested otherwise. Anna adored him as a friend and loved him for his kindness, but she knew it would never be more than that. "Come on, Joseph. I thought we were friends."

"I _am_ your friend, Anna. Which is why I _would_ tell you, _if_ I knew."

"He really didn't tell you?"

"Jesus Christ, Anna! If you ask me one more time I'm going to make up an answer just to get you off my back." He waved at his niece, in the distance. "Come here, Marie. Anna wants to take you snowmobiling."

Anna rolled her eyes, "Thanks a lot."

The little girl ran to them and jumped on Anna's lap and smiled. "Really?"

Anna kissed the girl's cold, red cheeks and pulled her into a hug. "Sure, sweetie. Why not?" She loved Joseph's family, as much as if they were her own and she was grateful that they had made her feel as though she was a part of it. In a way, they _were _the only family she had, aside from Bart. "Go and put on something warmer and meet me back here."

"She likes you, eh," Joseph pointed out.

"Hmm…" Anna watched the girl run towards her wooden house and for a second, the sight reminded her of the girl in her memories.

Anna then did what Bart always asked her to do; she closed her eyes and pushed the thought aside, trying to concentrate on something else instead. It was an impossibly hard thing to do, because she wanted nothing more than to remember, but after the last two incidents where the flashbacks had caused her to lose consciousness, she now started to fear the memories as much as she'd once welcomed them.

"What are you thinking?" Joseph asked, as if reading her mind.

"I'm thinking of the little girl I remembered. She looks a bit like your niece…"

"You think you had a Native daughter?"

Anna laughed. "Not really..."

Joseph shrugged his shoulders, as he exhaled from his cigarette, "Why not? It's possible."

_Anything's possible in a past that's a mystery._

Joseph noticed her serious expression, "Are you going to be okay, taking Marie on the snowmobile alone? Bart told me never to let you out of my sight."

Anna cringed. She hated that even Joseph now treated her like a child that needed constant supervision.

"I won't go far," she reassured him. "Just down to the riverbank and back. Besides, I think I'm getting better at controlling the memories." Anna stared at the huge satellite dish outside the Band Council office. The sight made her smile. Most urbanites had an image of Indians living simple lives up north, in harmony with mother nature, when in fact most of them had as many modern amenities as any big city dweller. The favourite pastime of the next generation wasn't hunting or fishing, it was video games. Joseph often teased Anna that she and Bart were more Indian than anyone else in the Bear Lake.

"You two don't even have a television! You're a disgrace to your technology dependent race, " he'd joked one day.

The satellite dish made her think of something else now. "Joseph, you brother's office has a computer doesn't it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Does he have access to the Internet?" It had been years since Anna had been near a computer, and back in her days the Internet had been a barely unheard of phenomenon. Yet she'd read about it from the news magazines that Bart brought her back from his trips to Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay. It was a world wide shared database of information. Apparently it had information on everything under the moon, from pop culture to recipes to the latest discoveries in astronomy. If her and Robert's 'death' had made the news, then Anna was certain she could find some information about it on the Internet.

"Yeah, he does."

"Would you help me look up something?"

"Sure, what?"

"Me."

"You want to do a search on yourself?"

"That's right."

"Why? I thought Bart had a whole file folder of your life's details on hand."

"I haven't thought to do it before because my memories correlated with the info that was in that folder. I remembered the explosion, working for the WSB, Robert…everything matched what the folder said until I started remembering a little girl. You think a dossier on my life would mention the fact that I had a daughter, no?"

"It _is_ strange," Joseph agreed. "Maybe you're imagining this girl because you wanted to have a child?"

"Either I'm going crazy, or Bart didn't know about this girl or…" She didn't want to think about the third possibility; that Bart _did_ know about her and purposely didn't tell her. Bart was her closest friend and Anna trusted him with her life. The thought that he might have lied to her all these years wasn't something she wanted to consider. 'There's no way,' she convinced herself. 'He wouldn't do that to me.'

"Bart wouldn't have lied to you," Joseph echoed, again reading her mind. "If he did…he had to have had the best reason in the world."

Anna glanced at Marie, running towards them both, "There's no reason good enough to not tell me I had daughter, Joseph. None. Either he doesn't know, or I'm going crazy."

Joseph draped one of his large arms around her protectively, "Tomorrow. I'll help you search the Net. Until then don't think about things that you can't do anything about."

"Are you ready, Anna?" the little girl's head was now covered in a thick moose-hide hat.

Anna gave her a smile and took her hand in hers, "You bet. Let's show your uncle how to drive these things."

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

"Hmmm…chocolates," Alex noticed the box that sat on the counter of the nurses station.

"They're Belgian," the nurse pointed out. "Help yourself. Robin left them here for us. I think she got them as a gift."

Alex took out a dark, strawberry shaped piece and bit into it. "Is she still here, my niece?" she asked with her mouth full.

"She left about ten minutes ago. Maybe you can still catch her in the locker room."

"Thanks." Alex headed for the stairwell and sprinted down to the basement.

The women's locker room was nearly empty and she spotted a tired looking Robin, changing out of her scrubs.

"Hey there...the nurse said I might still find you here."

"I just finished."

Alex sat down on a wooden bench next to her. "You look tired, sweetheart."

"It's been a long night. There was a seven-car pile up on the Interstate. We had a rush at 2am because of it."

"Dr. Gerald mentioned it when I got in."

Robin sat down next to Alex, leaning against the bank of lockers, not wanting to think about the intoxicated seventeen-year old whose vehicle had to be cut open in order to remove him from it. "How was the game last night?"

"The game?"

"Basketball? Weren't you going to take Max to see Sam play?"

"Oh yes...we did eventually go. Max had a good time even though Sam's team lost by fifteen goals."

Robin raised her eyebrows, "_Goals_? It was basketball, right?"

"That's right. Where they shoot the balls into the little nets up high."

Robin coudn't stop from laughing out loud. "Oh Alex, how are we ever going to make an American out of you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"_Points_, Alex. Fifteen _points_."

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"Sure."

"Hey...I had one of your chocolates. I heard you got them as a gift…" she said it with a smirk.

Robin's own smile disappeared. "They were from your friend, Dr. Hayward."

"I figured...He's been trying to catch you for days so he could give them to you. He bought flowers too, but because he didn't see you for such a long time and wanted to give them to you in person, they ended up on my desk. They were beautiful, Robin."

"Tell me something..." Robin cringed. "How can you stand working with that man? He's so arrogant."

"David? I suppose, but I don't see him that way. But then I've been accused of arrogance myself." She gave Robin a lopsided smile, "Even by you."

"Oh Alex…come on! There's no comparison. He's so smarmy, so cocky…it's almost like he expects someone to roll out a red carpet when he walks down the hallway."

Robin's irritation surprised her. "Sounds like he touched a nerve. I take it the apology didn't go over well?"

Robin shook her head, "That's just it. He didn't apologize! He just came up to me with these chocolates and expected me to bowl over with gratitude."

Alex laughed, "I guess he was wrong about that."

Robin finally returned her smile, "Yeah...I guess you could say that."

Alex leaned back against the lockers next to Robin, "Poor David."

Robin grinned as her fatigue wore off. "Hey, whose side are you on?"

"You are right about David, in a way," Alex's face was serious now. "He _is_ cocky. Ask him and he'll probably tell you he's the next Christiaan Barnaard when it comes to heart surgery. In fact, when we first met I probably despised him a whole lot more than you do. But to be fair, there's another side to him too."

"Sure. Doesn't every louse have at least one point of merit?"

"He's not just my colleague, Robin. He's one of my closest friends."

Now she was genuinely surprised. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, Robin…" Alex paused, choosing her words. "When Max was kidnapped, David and I were up in Northern Canada, on an Indian reserve near the Marick Mine. He met a ten-year-old girl there. She's the most headstrong, temperamental little kid you've ever met. Her name's Josie and she comes from a very dysfunctional family and to top it off she has asthma and diabetes. She was a handful, to say the least…and you should have seen David trying to get her to eat her dinner. Here's this big, world-renowned cardiologist going head to head with the most precocious ten year old in the world."

Robin smiled at the thought, wishing she could have been there, "I bet that would've been worth seeing."

Alex chuckled, "It was. But you know what? In spite of everything David fell in love with her, and less than a year later he adopted her. He's raising her by himself now, and sometimes he'll come to work dead tired because he was up all night with her. Because he's terrified she'll stop breathing."

Robin raised her eyebrows, not sure what to say. "You're talking about the same David Hayward I met in your office?"

"There's more, Robin. After I got shot and miscarried my baby last year, I was a mess. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I didn't leave my bedroom...I didn't even change the dressing on my wound for days at a time. I wanted to die, Robin. If it wasn't for David…I would have become very ill."

This time Robin looked at her in astonishment, "What do you mean?"

"He came to see me every day. He changed the dressing on my arm. He made sure I ate and left the four walls of my bedroom. He would talk to me for hours at a time, when I barely managed one-word answers in return. He helped me keep my sanity, Robin, at a time when I was certain I was going to lose it."

"But..." Robin didn't understand. "Why David? What about Dimitri?"

"Dimitri was going through so much grief of his own, he could barely cope himself, let alone help another person. And, truthfully, I think it would have been harder for him to treat me the way David did. He might have loved me too much for what I needed. 'Tough love', is what you call it here, isn't it?"

Robin exhaled, trying to digest what Alex was telling her. The same arrogant, cocky man who had made her hair stand on end, had a side to him that bordered on saintliness. "Who'd have thought…" she murmured.

"That's not to say he doesn't have moments when I still want to strangle him…but I want you to know that those moments aren't the sum of the man that he is."

Robin nodded, feeling guilty now for her reaction to his attempted apology. "Thanks, Alex, for telling me that."

Alex gave her a nudge, wanting to get off the topic of David Hayward. "You should get home and get some sleep."

Robin gave her a mock salute, "Will do. I guess there won't be anyone there now."

"Actually, Dimitri's back from his trip. He'll be home when you get there."

Robin grinned again, "I bet he came back early because he missed you. God, could you two get any sappier?"

"I wish that were it…" Alex was serious again. "He came back early to tell me he's been having these 'feelings'...these premonitions that something's about to happen. It's creepy, Robin."

Robin gave her a concerned look, "What does he mean by that?"

"He's not sure himself. He just feels that there's something we need to watch out for. How's that for foreboding? He wants me to carry a gun. It's insane."

"Why?" Robin questioned. "Maybe you should. Dimitri told me about the sensations he used to have after he was told you died. Some of them were so incredible, Alex. Like when he told me he clearly felt there was a part of him alive somewhere in the world, on the night that Max was born. And the day he fainted, in his office in New York, he's certain that…"

Alex stopped her, "Come on. You don't believe in that stuff, do you? There's no way we can correlate the dates of Dimitri's 'sensations', if you will, with the dates of certain events in my life."

Robin stared at her in disbelief, "How can you _not_ believe him? The connection you two have is so amazing. I don't doubt that he has a sixth sense about things and neither should you."

"I'm not going to live in fear…"

"You don't have to live in fear, Alex. Just don't brush off his warnings. I think he knows what he's talking about. For him to have told you about his fears, in spite of how much he tries to protect you, must mean he has no doubts about them."

Alex said nothing.

"Look, Alex…I just found you. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."

Alex put her arms around her, "Ah...don't be so ominous. No one is going to lose anyone. I have too much to live for right, including having you in my life, to take any sort of risks." She smiled in an attempt to put Robin at ease. "Dimitri's probably going to get audited next month, that's what these visions are about. We'll have to sell Wildwind and you'll have to work extra shifts to make ends meet…"

"It's not _me_ you should be trying to put at ease," she said softly. "Dimitri loves you so much. Listen to him, okay?"

"Alright," Alex nodded. "I will. Promise."

"I hope one day, I'll find someone again, who knows and loves me, as much as Dimitri knows and loves you. I swear when I do, I'll never take it for granted again."

"You will, Robin. I know it. You have such a remarkable heart and you're strong and beautiful. Whomever you decide to let into your life, to share it with you, is a very lucky man."

"Except I have HIV…you'd be surprised at how quickly these three little letters make those so-called lucky men head in the opposite direction."

"Then they weren't worth it to start."

Robin nodded, "I know, Alex. It's what I tell myself too. But it still hurts sometimes." It felt odd to talk about something so personal with someone she'd only known for a few months. But there was a level of trust and am ease with Alex that she hadn't felt in a long time. 'Not since, Mom,' she thought with a smile.

"Go home, sweetheart. Get some sleep."

"I will," she kissed her cheek. "And you be careful, okay?"

Alex said nothing as she watched her niece put on her jacket and purse and head outside. She sat in the empty locker room for several long minutes, after she left, wishing she could somehow find a way to remove those three little letters from Robin's life.

_Main Reception, Pine Valley Hospital _

_Later_

Bart made his way to the first counter he saw, after entering the hospital.

His hands trembled as he inched closer to the point of no return. Once he told Robin about Anna there would be no turning back. His life would change forever.

An old friend of his from the WSB, one he could trust not to question why, had kept track of Robin Scorpio for him. Once a month, on his outings to Thunder Bay, Bart would contact his friend and ask him about Robin's whereabouts and whether she was well or not.

He never wanted to know more than that. Details would have only compounded his guilt. He didn't want to know whether she failed any of her university exams, what her hobbies were or whether she had a boyfriend. Thanks to his friend, Bart knew that Anna's daughter was HIV positive. Had the HIV turned into AIDS and had she become seriously ill, he convinced himself he would have told Anna the truth. He would not have kept Anna away from her daughter if she were terminally ill, no matter what the risk was, to both of them.

And now he had made the decision to contact her, not for Robin's sake, but for Anna's. Because, she was the only person he trusted to both help her as a physician, while keeping Anna's existence a secret from those who'd use it to hurt her.

A black woman with a huge white smile looked up at him, "Can I help you, Sir?"

"I'm looking for one of your physicians, Dr. Robin Scorpio."

The nurse turned around to look at a clipboard. "I'm sorry…but she's gone for the day and she's off tomorrow. She'll be back in the day after tomorrow, at night. If you like, you can leave a message here for her."

"If you're looking for Robin, perhaps I can help you…"

The voice that offered the help came from behind him and had a distinctly English accent. It also sounded eerily familiar.

Bart turned around and when he saw the woman that stood across from him, he was certain he was hallucinating.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII**

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

"Sir...you look like you've just seen a ghost," the woman told him.

"I…"

Bart didn't know what to say. Or how to react. All he knew was that he couldn't take his eyes off her. Couldn't stop staring like a madman.

She was the mirror image of Anna. The same face, eyes, voice, expression. The same _everything_.

"Sir…you said you were looking for Doctor Scorpio?"

"Who _are_ you?" he asked, unsure of the steadiness of his voice.

"My name is Alexandra Marick, I'm Dr. Scorpio's aunt."

Anna had a sister. Not just a sister, an identical _twin_ sister. How could he not have known? Did Anna know? How could his friend not have mentioned her when he gave him updates on Robin?

Of course he knew the answer. Why _would_ he have mentioned her? It wasn't like he knew that Anna was living with him.

"Sir?" the woman's expression looked concerned now. "You don't look so well. Why don't you have a seat?"

"No…no, I'm fine," Bart struggled to compose himself, his eyes still riveted by her. Her hair was tied up in an elegant twist, with a thick barrette that matched the equally thick bracelet she had on one of her wrists. She wore a dark green blouse and a smooth, long, black skirt that fit her slender frame as though it was expressly made for her. Although her outfit was n't elaborate, it was more stylish than anything he'd ever seen Anna wear.

Bart wondered if she worked in the administration offices of the hospital. 'She doesn't look like a doctor or a nurse,' he thought, glancing at her high heels; expensive, elegant shoes that a hospital physician, who needed to be on her feet all day, wouldn't wear.

"Are you one of Dr. Scorpio's patients?"

"No…I mean, yes. I came to see her. But it's…it's not urgent. I'll come back the day after tomorrow."

"If you give me your name I'll let her know you stopped by," Alexandra Marick suggested.

"No…That's not necessary. Thank you." He turned around and made his way back out of the hospital, stumbling as he did.

_Pine Valley Inn, Pine Valley _

_The next day_

Cesar Faison bit into the chocolate-covered strawberry that was on the silver room service tray and he frowned.

Jan watched him spit it back out.

"This is disgusting! I can't believe they had the audacity to serve me such garbage." He would have loved to have a few choice words with the manager of room service, but he knew such an encounter wouldn't help his goal to remain as low key and unobtrusive as possible.

"No one cares for quality anymore, Jan," he remarked disappointedly.

It was a familiar lament and Jan had heard it before. Unhealthy obsessions aside, Cesar Faison was a genuine perfectionist, a rarity in a world where mediocrity was widely accepted as the norm. In fact, Jan was certain that after Cesar Faison was born they broke the mould. That men like him simply no longer existed.

"What's our next move?" Jan asked him.

"I want Alexandra."

Jan sighed. "Tell me something I don't know."

Faison pulled a tiny metallic object out of his bespoke-tailored Zegna suit. "But this time there won't be any blunders. We have every opportunity to do this right."

"You're going to tap her home?"

"No, not her home. She has an office at the local hospital. It's a headquarter of sorts for the non-profit research foundation she runs. That's where I'll plant the bug."

"And then?" Jan asked, wishing the entire operation was already over. He wished that they'd already captured the object of his boss's obsession and were back in Europe with her. The United States were foreign grounds to him and he felt uncomfortable here.

"We'll strike when the time is right. Preferably when Dimitri is out of town." He remembered the state she was in after she woke up from his last failed attempt to abduct her, " And no drugs this time."

"Fine. Just tell me what I need to do."

"I'll plant this myself," Faison told him. It would be a welcome challenge, a throwback to the days when he actually engaged in the everyday risks of working in the field. He had spent too much time lately running the mind numbing business aspect of the DVX.

It was time to get back into action and relish the thrill of the chase.

_Valley Mall, Pine Valley_

Robin Scorpio sat outside, in the nearly deserted patio of the coffee shop, and took another sip of her hot chocolate. Most other patrons had chosen to sit inside the cozy interior, as the air outside became increasingly chilly.

It was a glorious fall day; crisp, cool and brilliantly sunny and Robin leaned back in her chair to bask in it. Normally she would have been fast asleep at this time, in keeping with her night shift routine, something she tried to do even on her days off, in order to give her body a semblance of order. But when she saw the tempting rays of sunlight shine through her bedroom window this morning, she decided to forsake her routine for the sake of her sanity.

"Every now and then, I'm going to enjoy a few hours of daylight…even at the risk of throwing off my Protocol schedule," she told herself defiantly and as she stared at the blue skies above her, she knew she'd made the right decision. She pulled out a container of pills and swallowed three of them with her hot chocolate, not noticing the man that walked by her table at the same time.

"Hope you're enjoying your silly hot chocolate, Dr. Scorpio."

Robin raised her eyes to see the now familiar form of David Hayward standing next to her.

"Don't worry. I haven't come to offer you any more apologies," he told her, his face unable to contain a cocky grin. "Even _I'm_ not that masochistic."

Robin stared back at him, not sure how to reply to _that_.

He didn't give her a chance; "I saw you sitting here and thought it would be rude to walk by as though I didn't see you. After all, I'd hate for you to think badly of me."

"I bet. You probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, if I did."

Robin noticed a girl, nearly a teenager, come running towards David. She had the thickest, blackest hair Robin had ever seen, and huge eyes, the colour of charcoal, to match it.

"The lady at the cash was _so_ slow…" she groaned, in typical teenage fashion, as she handed David a blue plastic bag.

"Some people think patience is a virtue, kid," David told her, taking the bag from her. "Thanks, Josie." He looked at Robin, as though he'd momentarily forgotten she was there. "This is my daughter, Josephine."

The girl stared at Robin, making no obvious efforts to be pleasant.

"This is Robin, Alex's niece," David explained to her.

"Are you a doctor too?" Josie asked her with frank, curious eyes.

Robin gave her a smile, "Yeah, I am."

"I bet you're not as good as my Dad."

"Josie!" David admonished her.

Robin chuckled. "No, you're right. I'm not. At least not _yet."_

Josie saw her cup of hot chocolate, and looked at her father, "Can we get hot chocolate, Dad?"

David shrugged his shoulders and handed her a ten-dollar bill, "Why not? I could use a caffeine fix myself. Can you bring me a cappuccino?"

She took the bill and went inside the cafe, "Sure."

Robin shook her head, seeing David sit down next to her. "So what do you do? Make her repeat, 'Daddy is the world's best doctor a few times every night before she goes to bed?" Robin asked him.

David laughed, leaning in towards her with a conspiratorial whisper. "Actually…" he paused. "There's a huge altar at our home. There are life size statues of me everywhere. Josie pretty much worships them."

The remark made Robin laugh, in spite of her efforts not to.

David grinned at her, noticing the prescription container next to her hot chocolate. His curiosity got the better of him and he picked one up and stared at its label. Robin grabbed it from his hand and quickly stashed the container into her purse.

David gave her a puzzled look, "Who in the world prescribed that for you?"

"I did," she said softly. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Those pills are used as part of a drug cocktail for people that are HIV positive, as a preventative measure against the AIDS virus. Why would you be taking…" he looked at her, perplexed.

"I know," Robin told him. "I'm very familiar with that drug cocktail."

David shook his head, not understanding, "But you're..."

"I'm HIV positive."

He was suddenly, surprisingly, devoid of the arrogance that Robin was certain was an integral part of him. Instead, he looked at her with genuine shock. "Alex didn't tell me…"

"Why _would_ she tell you?"

"_You_ have HIV?" David didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry," was all he could manage.

Robin stared at him, taken aback by the sudden sincerity, "It's okay. Don't be. I'm not dying. I'm one of the lucky ones. I have ready access to the drugs that keep me alive and healthy. I've had the virus for about ten years now, and I've been in good health for most of that time. My T-cell counts are good."

"But when you're taking the drug cocktail for so long…doesn't it leave you with side effects?"

"Sure…I often feel nauseous, sick to my stomach, but overall, it could be worse. One of the most common side effects of the drugs is anemia, but I've been lucky, my blood's fine. Overall, _I'm_ fine."

"You _look_ fine," David admitted.

Robin laughed, uncomfortable with his sincerity.

"What's so funny?"

"You know what? You actually said it."

"Said what?"

"You said, 'I'm sorry'. Not in the context I was hoping for, but you do know how to say the words. I'm impressed Dr. Hayward."

"Well, you know what they say, first time for everything?" he managed a smile. "I _am_ sorry that I treated you the way I did in my office. I was tired, jet lagged and irritable, but that's no excuse."

Robin looked at him in surprise, the simple honesty of his words leaving her without a comeback this time. "In that case…apology accepted."

He held out his hand to her, his dark eyes focusing on her as though she was the only person in the world. "Thank you."

The way he looked at her made her blush, "No problem."

"And…" he paused."If you're ever up for letting me buy you dinner to make up for it, please let me know."

Robin stared at him, not sure what to make of the unexpected offer. His eyes still met hers and he looked like he was afraid of what she might answer.

Her lips curled up into a smile, "I might just take you up on that."

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Okay, first we have to log on," Joseph told Anna, sitting next to her in his brother's office. She was close enough for his cheek to touch her hair, a fact that didn't help his powers of concentration.

Unlike Bart's cabin, which had a toilet and sink that relied on an often-malfunctioning septic tank, his own house, which he shared with his sister and her three children, had a large, newly built bathroom, featuring full indoor plumbing. He knew Anna loved the luxury of the long showers she could take when staying with him and now he could still smell the distinct scent of his sister's floral shampoo on her hair.

For some reason the scent never lingered on his sister but on Anna he could detect the fragrance long after she'd showered. 'Maybe it's a white thing,' he thought, forcing himself to distance himself from her. 'Or maybe she puts on more than Cecilia does…or,' he smiled at the third choice, 'Maybe I just notice it because, well…because, it's Anna.'

"Then we go into a search engine…" he mumbled, his mind still on the soft, long hair that had touched his cheek a mere moment ago.

"What are you typing?" she asked.

"The name of the web site. The search engine is what's going to help us find what we're looking for."

"And now what?" she asked him, impatient and anxious all at once.

"We type in your name. _Anna Devane Scorpio_."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"That's incredible."

Joseph smiled, "Not so fast. We haven't found anything yet. We might not find a huge amount of stuff because at the time of the boat explosion most newspapers didn't start putting articles on the Net yet."

Anna watched him with fascination, "Why didn't I think of this before?"

"Here, you try it." He moved her hand over the mouse, covering it with his own, which was almost twice the size of hers. "When you see a line that could be something, click on it." He helped her scroll down on the computer screen, "Like this one…" It was an article from a Port Charles daily, dated the day after the boat explosion.

She clicked on the heading and saw the article come up on the screen.

'_Former and current Port Charles Police Commissioners feared dead in South American ship explosion._'

Anna read the article aloud. It was only two paragraphs long and painfully short on detail, mentioning only her name and Robert's and the fact that both of them had been suspected as being aboard the doomed tanker.

"Here's another one," Joseph pointed out. This time the article was dated almost two weeks after the explosion.

'_Memorial service for two of Port Charles' finest; a city and a family mourn._'

This time Anna read the article in silence, until she came to a paragraph glorifying their record with the Port Charles Police Department. "I thought I was supposed to have been this terrible double agent. This article makes me sound like a hero."

Joseph would never have imagined her as anything but and part of him wanted to tell her as much. "I guess you're not supposed to say anything bad about dead people."

Anna kept reading, mouthing the words until one sentence made her stop dead in her tracks and read it aloud, "_While a city mourns two of its most illustrious citizens, no one faces a greater loss than young Robin Scorpio, who has lost both of her parents in one fateful day."_

There was a photograph on the screen, of a tear-faced girl attending the memorial service, bravely standing next to her uncle.

"Joseph...this...this is the girl in my memories! _Robin Scorpio_. Oh God…" Anna covered her lips with trembling hands, "It's true…it's not my imagination." She reached out to touch the photo on the screen as if wanting her to come alive. Tears rolled down her face, "Oh God…my daughter. My little girl…"

"Anna…?" Joseph observed her, unsure what to do.

Anna kept staring at the screen as a wave of regret and anger and inconsolable sadness washed over her. With it came a torrent of images, unleashed along with the photo.

Anna closed her eyes and saw Robin, clearly and vividly as though she was seeing her for the very first time.

She heard her cry when she was born; loud, strong, and defiant just like the unforgettable man she was named after. She remembered her first steps, her first smile and the first words she spoke.

She remembered the gentle Italian woman who had helped her through her early years with her daughter. She remembered the first day Robert held her in his arms, awe struck with the realization that this beautiful girl was his daughter too.

"Robin…oh my baby…"

Her memories continued and the girl grew older. She remembered sitting in an apartment, sharing a meal with her, her inquisitive eyes already more wise than Anna wanted them to be. She remembered arguing with her; impressed by strength of her convictions.

"Anna…" Joseph grew afraid, as he watched Anna disintegrate before his eyes. Her hands had moved to her head and he was certain she was in pain. Bart had warned him about the headaches that came with her memories, but the old man's words of caution hadn't prepared him for what he was witnessing now.

At first, Anna had ignored the pain that came with the flood of memories. Her desire to remember the girl she now knew was her daughter, was too great, but as it intensified she was no longer able to push it aside. It consumed her. Sharp, blinding and unbearable all at once.

'Why?' she wondered angrily, 'Why would it hurt so much to remember? _Why_?'

She pushed herself away from the computer screen, attempting to get out of the room. The air inside it was suffocating her and she was unable to look at the photo any longer. The piercing headache caused her vision to blur, and instead of Joseph, all she saw was a huge, dark mass moving to put his arms around her.

It was the last thing she saw before she fell into them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX**

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

It was almost midnight and the hospital corridor was nearly deserted.

Cesar Faison approached the door of Alexandra's office with precise, even steps, making sure his stride suggested he had every reason for being there.

A nurse passed him in the hallway and he gave her an acknowledging smile, as though he was a member of the Board of Directors, greeting one of his own. He nodded slightly and met her eyes. "Good evening," he said, with a distinct tone of authority, as he pushed his lock-picking tool into the lock of the door.

The nurse happily returned his smile, oblivious to what he was doing. "Good evening, Sir."

During the three seconds that it took him to open the door, he heard her footsteps distance themselves from him as she made her way down the hallway.

'People are so gullible. So easily fooled by appearances,' he thought with disdain, quietly entering the dark room.

He turned on the lights and looked around the office. There were two large desks inside, neither one of them particularly neat. Both were covered with folders and stacks of papers. He saw a picture of a dark haired, brown skinned girl on one of them. In the photo, she had a wide grin, holding up a fish she obviously just caught.

'Wrong desk,' Faison thought with a frown.

He moved over to the desk closer to the window and was surprised to see it held no photographs. 'Where's little Max?' he wondered.

Faison bent down to run his fingers along the rim of the desk and noticed a small note taped to the corner. It was a child's drawing of a smiling sun and written, in a child's clumsy scrawl, were the words; _'I love you more, Mum. Than anything else on the earth.'_

For reasons he couldn't explain, he wanted to rip the note off the desk and crumple it in the palm of his hand. He stopped himself, sitting down at the desk instead, staring at the handwritten notes that were scattered all over it. In stark contrast to her elegant appearance, Alexandra's handwriting was messy and barely legible. He didn't bother trying to make out what the notes said, simply taking one and stuffing it into his pocket.

He wondered what she would think if she knew that he now carried something on him that was handwritten by her, most likely, less than 24 hours ago. 'Tomorrow you're going to sit in this very same chair…your flesh will touch the very same leather that mine is now touching.' The thought put a smile on his face.

Faison lingered in her chair for several long minutes before reaching into his other pocket to pull out the tiny, metallic object he'd shown Jan earlier. He moved his arm along the underside of her desk and when it was far enough inside, he used his fingers to scrape off the sealing agent that was attached to the metal. Then he fastened it to the desk.

"As of tomorrow, everything you say in this office will be transmitted directly to my room at the Valley Inn."

He caressed the soft, leather chair once more before leaving the room. 'Mission accomplished,' he thought contentedly, before turning off the lights.

_Pine Cone Motel, Pine Valley_

_Earlier _

Bart hurriedly signed for the couriered package and nodded a thanks to the man who had delivered it to his door.

He ripped it open before he sat down on the bed with it, pulling out a file folder full of papers and a select few photographs.

His old friend from the WSB, the same one who kept him updated of Robin Scorpio's whereabouts, had collected the information for him, at a moment's notice.

It was a dossier on Alexandra Devane Marick.

"I'll be damned," he mumbled to himself, starting to read. "She _is_ a doctor after all. Not just a doctor but a neurologist, which is exactly what you need, Anna." There were several pages detailing her medical achievements, including countless research grants given to her and her team of researchers, mostly in the field of prion disease. Although he only glanced over the details, he was impressed with what he read. 'If anyone can help you, it's her,' he thought, 'Your twin sister of all people.'

Skimming over the first handful of documents, he flipped to the papers detailing her past, curious as to how the two girls ended up so far apart, with neither one having any knowledge of the other. He read with fascination how Charlotte Devane had obviously taken her brother-in-law's child, believed to have been still born, and raised it as her own, in order to have an heir for her network of spies.

"I guess something didn't go according to plan," he mumbled aloud. He tried to recall what little he knew about Brynn Wydd from his days in the WSB. He remembered that even then, the organization was known for its sinister, clandestine activities; activities that were rarely sanctioned by Her Majesty's government. Charlotte Devane had a reputation for running her outfit with an iron fist, determined to prove that women were more than capable of being equal players in the world of espionage. "Poor kid," Bart decided. "Growing up with that monster."

He took out a cigarette, about to step outside to light it, and then stopped himself with a chuckle. 'She's not here, ' he remidned himself. At the cabin, he never smoked inside because of Anna. Bart spotted an ashtray and pulled it towards him, as he lit the cigarette, continuing his reading at the same time.

"Then, for seven years, you disappear, off the face of the earth," he mumbled, staring at a photo of Alex. "Only to return with a little boy in tow. I bet Charlotte Devane had something to do with _that_ disappearance…" Now Alexandra Marick was married to one of the richest men in the world, a man she herself had reportedly brought back from the brink of death, by using an experimental form of stem cell therapy to cure his neurological illness.

Bart discovered a hand written note from his friend amidst the papers and he smiled when he read it. '_This one's definitely a find. Her life makes the tabloids sound boring._'

"It's the truth," he told himself. 'You're definitely interesting, Alexandra Marick,' he thought, extinguishing his cigarette and biting into an apple he had bought on the way back from the hospital. Fresh fruit were a luxury in the woods of Northern Ontario and he made it a point to savour them with every visit south. 'But I don't care about interesting. What I care about is whether you can help Anna. Can I _trust_ you enough to let you help her?'

Anna may not have known about Alex, but Alex, by virtue of Robin's presence in her life, had to know about Anna.

His original plan had been to find Robin. Because she was a doctor, she'd be able to help Anna obtain the medical help she needed and because she was her daughter, Bart was certain that she would help keep her mother's existence a secret in order to protect her.

'_If_ Anna agrees to it,' he corrected himself. If anyone had a mind of her own, it was Anna Scorpio and once she saw Robin, Bart knew that it would mark the end of their friendship.

'You're not going to forgive me keeping this secret from you. I know that and I accept that. It's a risk I took when I decided not to tell you.' As much as it hurt him each time he thought of it; it was a sacrifice he was willing to make, if it could end her pain and save her life. He couldn't think of anyone but Robin who would make the efforts, _illegal efforts_ if necessary, to help Anna obtain the help she needed.

But now there _was_ someone else. _Alexandra Marick_.

'If I tell Alex about Anna she'll probably insist on telling Robin anyway. Robin, on the other hand, I could probably convince to tell no one. After all, we're talking about the mother she thinks is dead. There's nothing she won't comply to, if I offer Robin her mother in return. But,...' he couldn't help but glance at the papers in front of him, 'Alex is a neurologist.' That precious fact now dangled in front of him like a carrot.

He rubbed his forehead, throwing the core of his apple into a waste bin, before lying down on the bumpy mattress of the cheap motel room.

"Robin or Alex? Which one can I trust to help you?" he asked aloud, staring at the ceiling, noticing a large, brown water stain. "Your daughter, your sister or both?"

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario_

Joseph Thunderclap stood in the doorway, leaning his large, heavy frame against the wall, watching her sleep and wondering what she was dreaming, _whether_ she was dreaming.

'Why do I care so much?' he asked himself.

A woman approached him from behind. "So, did your princess wake up yet?" The tone of her voice was loud and it was laden with sarcasm. She was probably hoping it was loud enough to wake Anna.

Joseph gave her a push away from the doorway and closed the door to the room.

"Don't talk so loud," he chided her. The woman's name was Lucy and she was his sister's closest friend, as well as his ex-girlfriend. Joseph had dated her when he was younger and there was a time when he thought they might have had a future together. But then she left the reservation in search of a better life in the big city. She had wanted him to come along but even back then, when he was young and restless, he couldn't have imagined life anywhere but right here, where hundreds of years ago his ancestors had built large, vibrant settlements long before the white man knew this continent existed.

"So, I asked you a question…"

Joseph frowned when he smelled alcohol on her breath. "What's it to you?"

"She happens to be sleeping in my bed. I want her out of it before I go to sleep tonight."

"It's not _your_ bed," Joseph reminded her. "It's Marie's. You just happened to have borrowed it for the last six months." Lucy had been living in their already crowded house for months now, meaning the three children now shared a room, as did his sister and Lucy. For the last two days Anna had used the sofa bed in their living room.

Joseph had built their house with his own two hands and the fact that Lucy, who was forever down on her luck, was using it for free accommodation was starting to bother him. "She'll stay here tonight, if that's what she needs," he added softly.

"Don't you get that she's never gonna sleep with you? You're not good enough for her."

Joseph glared at her. He hated confrontations and avoided them like the plague. "Don't be crude," was all he said.

She shook her head in disgust, "You're a loser, Joseph. Everyone knows you've got a thing for her. It's embarrassing. Indian girls aren't good enough for you anymore?"

"You're one to talk about embarrassing," he mumbled.

"I said I want her out of my bed by tonight!"

His voice was still soft. "Don't make me kick you out of this house, Lucy."

She muttered back an obscenity, in a mixture of English and Ojibwa. "Your sister would never let you!" she added before turning her back on him and storming out.

"Stay away from the kids. You're drunk." His voice was a notch louder this time, not out of anger but because he wanted to make sure she heard him. He hated the influence she might have on the kids, especially the oldest, Marie. Whenever Anna was around, he made sure the kids spent time with her. Anna was at ease with them, showing them simple things like how to hold a rifle properly or build a fire in the snow. '_That_'s what's embarrassing,' he thought. 'The fact that Anna knows our land better than you do.' And unlike Lucy, she didn't drink and she always treated his sister with respect. He wished his sister would see the light and get rid of Lucy, but he would never say so to her face. Interference was not a part of their culture. If Cecilia had to learn the hard way that Lucy was bad news, then that was the way it had to be.

He opened the door to the bedroom and much to his surprise, saw Anna sitting up in the bed, ready to get out of it.

He rushed to her side, "Hey…what are you doing?"

"I have to get out of here…" Judging from the palor of her skin and the way she held her stomach, he figured that wasn't a great idea.

"Anna…you don't look so good." He sat down next to her, thinking he'd never seen her look as ill as she did just then. The sight made him realize that Bart's mysterious trip had to involve her health somehow, that she was sicker than the old man had let on.

"I'm fine…I remember what we found on your brother's computer, Joseph. Robin, my daughter. I have to try and find her!"

"You're not doing anything right now."

She surprised him by standing up. "He lied to me, Joseph! All these years, he _knew_ that I had a daughter and he didn't tell me!"

"You don't know that, Anna. Maybe Bart didn't know."

She shook her head angrily, "I was a case assigned to him by the WSB. There's no way they could have left out something like that. He _had_ to have known. According to what we saw on the computer, she was living with Robert and me at the time of the explosion. This wasn't some long lost child I had given up at birth. I _raised_ that girl, Joseph! And now that I finally remember her…I _have_ to find her."

"How are you going to do that? She'd be in the States wouldn't she? You have no money and no papers, Anna. They want you for treason. How far do you think you'd get before ending up in jail or dead?"

"Getting into the States is a piece of cake, Joseph. The backwoods of Ontario and Minnesota don't even have border patrols."

Joseph watched her hold on to the wall for support. "You're sick, Anna. You wouldn't last more than day on your own," he tried to reason.

"I'm not sick, Joseph. The memories give me headaches, that's all. If I find my daughter, I won't have to try so hard to remember anymore, will I?" The thought of the girl brought tears to her eyes. "I wonder, Joseph…where is she? Is she well?" She stared at him, full of hurt and anger. "Why did she have to grow up without her parents when I was here all this time? I could kill Bart for keeping this from me."

Joseph tried to make her sit back down, but she pushed his arms away. "Bart loves you, like a father. If he did keep this from you, I'm sure he had a reason. You have to give him a chance to explain. Wait until he comes back, then make your decision."

"Wait for him to tell me more lies?"

He had never seen her this angry. "For heaven's sake, Anna…you fainted this morning! Can't you see that you can't do anything right now?"

She closed her eyes. "I've wasted so much time already…"

"So another few days won't make a difference, will they?"

Anna nodded reluctantly, conceding defeat. "Maybe, you're right. Who am I kidding? I'm in no shape to hike across the border. But in a couple of days…will you help me then, Joseph?"

He didn't want to answer her. "We'll see. Just don't do anything stupid in the meantime." A sense of relief washed over him when he saw her sit back down on the bed. Even so, she wouldn't lie down and the gesture made him smile. He didnt' doubt that she felt awful, but she didn't let him see it. She was one of the strongest people he knew. And there were few things he admired more than genuine strength.

"I won't," she told him.

"Promise me?"

"Promise." She held out her hand to him, a gesture that puzzled him.

"Where do you want to go? You have to rest."

"I heard you talking to Lucy. I don't want to stay in this room and cause problems."

"Don't listen to her. She's angry for no reason and jealous 'cause you're my friend."

She managed a grin, "I can see why she'd be jealous of your friendship."

Joseph smirked, taking her hand and helping her up. "She also hates that you're stronger than her."

Anna frowned, "I don't know about that…I just know I have to find my little girl, if it's the last thing I do." She noticed the bottle of aspirin on Lucy's bedside stand. "Do you mind?" she asked Joseph, picking it up.

"Go ahead, but don't you have something stronger from the doctor?"

She poured out three pills and swallowed them with the tea that Joseph had brought in earlier, now cold. "The other pills are too strong. A last resort," she explained. "They make me feel all spaced out."

Joseph heard the sound of footsteps and Marie enter the room.

"Anna, are you still sick?" she asked cautiously, wrinkling her runny nose.

Anna bent down to wipe the girl's nose with a tissue. "No, Marie. I'm fine now." She glanced up at Joseph, "Thanks to your uncle."

"Wappie wants to go for a walk," Marie told her. "Lucy doesn't want to go with me. Will you come with me?"

"Sure I…" Anna was about to say more but Joseph didn't let her finish.

"Anna's not up for a walk yet. I'll take you." He nudged Anna towards his room, "Please, go and sleep. You need to get your strength back for what you have to do."

Anna glanced at the girl and then at Joseph, "Alright. I'm sorry Marie, but he's right."

Joseph squeezed her shoulders, "I want you to sleep in my room tonight. You can close the door and it'll be quiet. I'm going to use the sofa bed outside."

"I don't want you to…" she started, but he cut her off again.

"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you."

She knew him well enough to know it was pointless to protest. "Thank you."

Joseph grabbed a baseball cap and put it over his thick, long hair before the leaving the house with his niece.

_Later_

Anna hadn't gone back to the bed, as Joseph had suggested. Instead she'd stood in the doorframe of his room, staring at the empty hallway for a long time, thinking about the world she'd now have to leave behind. Bart, the cabin, Joseph and the reservation, and all its surrounding lakes, rivers and forests.

This had been her world for more than a decade now. She knew the maze of rivers around them as well as others knew the streets of their suburban neighbourhoods. If need be, as long as she had her rifle, she could survive for a week alone in the forest. She no longer feared the wildlife that teemed amongst the trees, nor the heavy silence and darkness that blanketed them at night. What she did fear now was the world that was beyond the one she knew so well.

'Black box order and treason charges aside, could I still survive in Port Charles?' she wondered. 'Would I still fit into that world?'

She finally went to lie down in Joseph's bed, frightened at what lay ahead. Frightened of leaving behind the only place she felt comfortable in and entering one that probably no longer wanted her in it. She knew Joseph thought she was strong enough to face anything and Anna wished she shared his certainty.

Her mind kept drifting back to Robin. 'What if she tells me that she doesn't need me anymore? That I'm too late?'

_Will you blame me for your father's death?_

She covered herself with Joseph's thick, wool blanket, shivering. "I'm sorry, Robin," she whispered aloud. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, all these years. I'm sorry that I couldn't remember sooner." The guilt she felt was so strong now it overwhelmed her. Anna closed her eyes, crying until she fell into an exhausted sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X**

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA _

_Andrassy Foundation Office_

"You _have_ to come, Heidi. I swear, if I have to get on a plane and bring you here myself…Max is dying to see you!"

From across the room, David observed her with a grin.

Alex was in the midst of trying to organize a Christmas party the likes of which Wildwind had never seen before. After having lived a life of isolation for far too long, this party was more than just a celebration for her. It was an affirmation of triumph, a note that she was back in the land of the living and a show of love to those that had helped her find the way back.

Alex turned to David after she hung up with Heidi. "I was thinking if Josie had someone she wanted to invite, we could fly them down from Bison River. Dimitri's always jetting off to the mine anyway."

David raised his eyebrows, "Maybe Tina? And there's her cousin, Louise."

"Anyone else?"

"Alex, I don't know...it's barely November!"

"This is going to be huge, David! I can't put this together at the last minute. Will you ask your brother and his girlfriend to join us as well? I might draw the line at your mother though."

David chuckled. "Don't worry, if you don't, I will."

"Sanjay's already confirmed with me that he'll be coming with his wife and four of his daughters. Now I have to start pestering Mac and his wife…"

"You're obsessed."

She threw a piece of paper at him from across the room. It landed on his desk. "I'm going to pull this off and even _you_ are going to be impressed."

"It's going to be crazy and chaotic," he mumbled, turning his attention back to the computer screen in front of him.

"It's going to be _amazing_," she corrected him. "I've wanted to do something like for so long," she explained. "Since Max and Robin came back to Wildwind. Neither of them have been part of a family for a long time and I want to make it up to them."

Alex knew that the feeling of isolation was one that David could relate to. Both of them shared a legacy of cold, calculating mothers, neither of whom were fit to raise children. Both of whom had denied their children any sort of sense of belonging. It wasn't a feeling she wanted for Max or Robin. Max was seven-years old before he met his father and Robin had lost her parents far too soon.

Alex stared at David, typing away on his keyboard.

"I feel your eyes in the back of my head," he told her, stopping his work as he unwrapped chocolate bar, bit into it and returned her stare. "You have a guilty look on your face. What gives?"

Alex bit her lips, annoyed that he could read her so easily. "I did do something this morning that I probably shouldn't have."

Now David's grin broadened, "No way…Saint Alex did something amoral? Now I'm interested. Do tell."

"Come to think of it, what I did really _was_ more in your league than mine."

He shook his head in amused disbelief, throwing his candy bar wrapper into the waste bin. "Why does that sound like an insult?"

"Oh, I'm sorry…that's not what I meant. That came out all wrong."

Her apology made David laugh. "'My league', is that right? Sounds notorious… Come on Alex, spit it out." She had his undivided attention now.

Alex leaned back in her chair. "It's about Robin. She's been working all these night shifts lately and it's…it's just hard for her." She wondered how to explain it to David without stating the obvious.

"It messes with the Protocol regimen…I know," he said softly.

She gave him a shocked look, "You _know_?"

"I know she has HIV, yes."

"How?"

"I saw her at the mall the other day and she told me." His expression was serious now and Alex thought she saw what looked like regret in his eyes.

Alex bit into the top of her pen, "So you know…it's really hard for her. Trying to maintain a routine, with the drugs and adjusting to all the night shifts at the same time. But of course, she would never say anything to me, because the last thing she'd want is for me to feel sorry for her. She thinks I don't notice when she feels miserable."

"So you decided to go to her supervising physician and exert your almighty influence…"

She grinned back at him, "Something like that. Do you think I was wrong?"

"Why would that be wrong? You love her and you're trying to keep her healthy. There's nothing wrong with that."

"I know…but knowing Robin, she'd hate it if she knew what I did. She can be so stubborn when it comes to things like this."

"Stubborn? _Your_ niece? How's that possible?" he teased. "Besides, she never has to know, does she?"

"I suppose..." Alex heard a knock on the door before she has a chance to finish her thought. She got up to answer it, smiling when she saw it was Robin. "Hi sweetie, how are you?"

"Speak of the devil," David mumbled.

Robin looked up at her aunt, "I'm fine…but I came here to ask Dr. Hayward something." Robin held a piece of paper held it in front of David's face accusingly. "Did you do this?" she demanded.

David gave her a puzzled look, "What are you talking about?"

"The day after I tell you I have HIV, all of a sudden my schedule changes to an entire month of nothing but day shifts…heck, I even have the next weekend off!"

David looked at Robin, then at Alex, who cringed.

"Is that what I look like to you? Someone who needs favouritism? If that's what you think, you're sorely mistaken. I've worked too hard for too long to prove myself…not so I can be pitied now."

"Robin," Alex cut in, "David didn't…"

Robin waved her hands in the air. "He's not denying it, Alex!" She turned back to him, "Are you?"

David smiled at her, "Maybe you just got lucky…who's to say anyone did anything? You've paid your dues and did more than your share of nights."

"But I'm _asking_ you. _Did_ you do this?"

Alex's frown deepened as she watched the scene. "Robin, you're wrong about this…" she tried but David cut her off.

"Would it be so horrible if I did?"

Robin's face was full of irritation. "Yeah…it would. Because if I thought my HIV would make it impossible for me to stand the rigours of this job, I would never have become a doctor. I've worked hard to be treated as an equal, not someone that other people have to feel sorry for. I certainly don't need you to change that now!"

"Robin…stop it! This is ridiculous, " Alex stepped in.

Robin swirled around to face her. "I'm sorry I'm being so blunt, but I hate this sort of manoeuvring and I won't just let it go. I know he meant well…but I don't see it that way."

She flashed David one final angry glance, "Don't _ever_ do anything like that again. Is that clear?"

"Robin, wait…" Alex tried once more.

"I have to go, Alex," she told her, stuffing her hands into her pockets, as she cut her off. "I'm late already. I'll see you later."

She was out of the office before Alex had a chance to say anything else.

She glanced guiltily at David, "I'm sorry about that. I'll straighten things out once she gets home." She moved to the window, watching the late fall rain that pummelled the sidewalk below. "Looks like she'll owe _you _an apology now. What a mess."

"Don't bother, Alex. Let her think it was me. She can't stand my guts anyway. What's one more dastardly deed?" He turned off his computer and stretched himself, checking the time on his watch. "I should get going. I promised Josie we'd go out for dinner after her band practice."

"You really think I'd let you take the blame for something I did?"

"Oh don't be so damn noble for a change. What's the point in having Robin upset with you too?"

"She's so stubborn and so independent, David…but I won't let her jeopardize her health to prove a point. If I have to sit her down and knock some sense into her thick skull, then that's what I'll do. I'm not sorry for what I did."

"Kind of like a mother-daughter chat?"

She gave him a lopsided grin, "Sure. She's an adult, David. Smart and tough, but sometimes I look at her and I just want to protect her and keep her safe. In spite of what she may say, she could really use a Mom sometimes and I wish so much my sister were still alive. I wish I knew what she'd do in my place…"

David put on a black, leather jacket, shrugging his shoulders. "Who knows? Who's to say she would've had all the answers?" There was another knock on the door, just as he was about to head out. He glanced at Alex, "Expecting someone?"

She shook her head. "No."

She watched David open it only to see an elderly man, with a winter jacket and head of white hair, at the door. It took her a few seconds but then she recognized him as the same man she saw near the reception the other day. The one who was looking for Robin.

"Can I help you?" David asked him.

"I'm here to see Dr. Marick."

"Do I know you?" she asked him. He seemed unable to take his eyes off her.

"You don't, but I need to speak to you. It's very important."

David made no signs of leaving the room, crossing his arms where he stood.

Bart eyed him. "I'd like to speak to Dr. Marick alone."

"I'm sorry...but we share this office," David told him.

Alex appreciated what he was doing. He seemed as uncomfortable with the old man as Alex was.

Bart's gaze didn't waiver. "Please. This is really important."

"It's okay, David," Alex decided, suddenly curious to hear what he had to say. "He's one of Robin's patients." She turned to the old man, "Aren't you?"

He nodded, a hint of relief in his voice, "Yes…yes I am."

David mouthed her a silent, '_Are you sure_?'

Alex nodded, "It's fine."

David zipped up his leather jacket, still hesitant to leave. "I'll ask Phil in security to stop by before his shift ends in five minutes," he said for both their benefits.

When David was gone Alex sat back down at her desk and pointed to the chair across from it. "Please...have a seat. How can I help you?"

He seemed to relax now that David was gone, but he was still staring at her. He took a deep breath, as if weighing his words. "I do need your help," he said softly. "More than you can imagine."

"You need my help how?"

"It's about your sister, Anna."

Alex was taken aback by the mention of the name. It was the last thing she expected. "My sister is dead. She died over ten years ago."

Bart's eyes were still glued on her. "That's what everyone has been led to believe. But the truth is Anna is very much alive and she desperately needs your help."

_Valley Inn, Pine Valley, PA_

Cesar Faison had been listening to their conversation, in his hotel room. It had only half his attention, while the other half was absorbed in a file folder he was trying to read.

Another one of his agents had just lost his life in Colombia. It was the third one this year and it frustrated Faison. 'Do they think I can just pick these people off the street?' While his agents might not have had the qualifications of those of other, similar, organizations, they were still professionals in their craft. "Blasted drug lords…" he mumbled to himself. "Whatever happened to honour among thieves?"

He signed a generous check to the agent's widow and sealed the envelope with red, hot wax, bearing the intricate seal of the DVX. Using a calligraphy pen with an 18-carat gold nib, he wrote her address on the outside of the envelope and hand stamped it. "One more agent," he decided. "If one more of my men dies in the drug wars of Colombia, I'm pulling them all out."

It was not a decision he made out of affection for the men and women who worked for him, but for financial reasons. Dead agents were a monetary burden on his organization. Never mind a paperwork nightmare.

Faison allowed himself a smile when he heard Robin bursting into Alex's office and she accused David of changing his schedule. "You're almost as hot-headed as your mother," he muttered aloud. The auditory quality of the tapped conversation was excellent and he could hear nearly every word with surprising clarity. Granted, most of what he heard bored him. He had almost fallen asleep earlier this morning, when Alexandra and David were discussing a research project in excruciating detail. Nonetheless, he thoroughly enjoyed the occasional glimpses into Alexandra's personal life and the little revelations they offered, such as her giddy excitement over an upcoming holiday party and her decision to use her position to change Robin's work schedule. "When it comes down to it, we're all manipulators, working our own personal agendas. I take strange comfort in the fact that you're no different from the rest of us, Alexandra."

The arrival of the stranger suddenly tweaked his interest and he put down his fountain pen, listening to the conversation with renewed interest.

Abruptly, his interest turned to shock.

'What he's saying is not possible,' he thought, trying to calm himself. 'Anna? Oh God… what if it _is_?' A shiver of yearning cursed through his body.

'Anna, my love…is it _really_ possible that you're alive?'


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter XI**

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Alex stared at the old man in disblief, feeling as though someone had knocked the air out of her. She was grateful that she was sitting down.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you like this…but it's not a joke. Anna's alive and she needs your help."

"No," Alex shook her head. "You're lying. Why would you come in here and tell me something like this? Who _are_ you?"

The old man's face was impassive. "My name is Bart Milton. Like Robert and Anna, I used to work for the WSB. At the time of the ship explosion that supposedly killed them, there was a black box order issued against your sister. I was the man who was sent to carry it out."

Alex picked up her phone, "I'm calling security…"

Bart jumped up to stop her, pushing her hand down on the receiver. "Don't do that." His eyes met hers in desperation, as if trying to convince her of both his sanity and his sincerity. "Please, Alex, give me a chance to explain. Let me tell you what happened…"

Alex forced herself to take a deep breath, her gaze unwavering. "Fine…tell me your story, Bart."

The story he told her was incredible. He told her about trailing her sister, about jumping into the ocean to pull her out after the explosion. He told her about taking her to a hospital in Venezuela, because he didn't know what else to do, about her memory loss, and how he brought her to Canada. He also told her that her sister's memory was coming back now. At a price.

Alex ran a hand through her hair, unsure whether she could believe what she was hearing. "I don't know what to say…all this time, you're telling me my sister has been alive, living with you, in the Canadian wilderness. It's a lot ot swallow..."

"I know," Bart nodded. "But you have to believe that I'm telling you the truth."

"Do you have any physical proof? Photos?"

"I do." He pulled out a photograph for her. It was a photo of Anna holding a little Native girl in her lap, sitting on the porch of a log building.

"This is Anna with Marie, our friend's daughter, at the Bear Lake reservation."

Alex looked at it, shocked to see her sister, _her mirror image_, staring back at her. After all these years…Anna was alive. Her hand trembled as she handed the photo back to Bart.

He shook his head, "No, you keep it. It's yours."

"But I don't understand…why wouldn't you tell her about Robin? You _knew_ she had a daughter and you kept that from her all these years? Even as Anna started to remember her?"

"Anna's wanted for some very serious charges here. I thought I was protecting them both."

Alex shook her head in disblief, her initial shock slowly replaced by anger. "You made a decision to keep a mother and daughter apart, because you 'thought' you were doing the right thing? Here I thought I came dangerously close to playing God in _my_ line of work! Do you have _any_ idea how much Robin needed her mother, growing up?"

Bart's face blushed red and Alex suspected her words stung him in spite of his unreadable expression.

"Are you going to help her or not?"

Alex exhaled, trying to absorb everything this meant. How often had she longed to have the chance to have met Anna? Her identical twin. Her other half. Anna was the one her mother would have wanted and, ironically, she was the one who had managed to live a rich, vibrant life outside of Charlotte's clutches. Experts argued that twins shared a deeper bond than other siblings; that they were two parts of a whole, one often unable to exist without the other. Alex had often read stories about twins, separated at birth, only to find each other later in life, following parallel dreams, choosing the same career, wearing similar clothes and hairstyles, at times even marrying men with similar looks. All her life, Alex had felt that something was missing, some part of her that wasn't quite complete, and when she discovered she had twin sister, that gnawing feeling finally made sense. It was a discovery made too late, after her Anna had already died. She'd resigned herself to living a life without a single blood relative. Connecting with her sister's daughter had been amazing enough, she didn't dare to hope for more. Yet, if this man's story was true it would change so much. She'd finally find that other half of herself.

Alex eyed Bart in silence, not wanting him to know just how desperately she wanted to see Anna. "Of course I'll help you. But what exactly do you expect me to do? I can't go up to this cabin of yours, take one look at her, diagnose her and make her headaches go away."

"I know that…she needs access to medical tests, MRI scans or whatever else you have to do. She's getting weaker and I'm worried for her."

"What did you expect?" Alex asked him angrily. "Immediately after being released from a hospital in South America, you drag her up to one of the most severe climates in the world. You never once take her to see a medical professional. Did you seriously think the injuries and the amnesia would never return to haunt her?"

"Anna was doing fine until she started to remember. She's tough."

"She's _human_, damn it!" Alex snapped back, suddenly exhausted.

"Look, what happened, it happened. I can't change that now but I'm asking for your help. What _can_ you do for her?"

Alex sighed, "I don't know…" She ran a hand through her hair again. "I do know I can't treat her in Canada. I'm not licensed to practice there."

"You can't bring her to the States. She's still a fugitive from the law here."

"I know…but we could bring her to England. I can treat her there and I know people who'll help me keep her safe." She thought of Sanjay and his wife, knowing without a doubt that they would ensure she received the best care available.

Bart frowned. "You can't have too many people involved in this. It's too risky."

"You _have_ to tell Robin," Alex told him. "This is her _mother_ we're talking about here. Do you have any idea how this news will affect her? And I have to tell my husband. I can't just jet off to Canada without letting him know what I'm doing."

"No!" Bart shot back. "You can't! Your husband can't know about this and I'd rather not tell Robin until we have Anna safe in the UK."

Alex glared at him, "How dare you come in here and set terms and conditions on helping my sister?"

Bart's gaze was unapologetic. "How dare you suggest I risk her life after she's come this far?"

Alex seethed. "I'm not exactly making an announcement in the local paper! I trust my husband. He would never do anything to jeopardize Anna's well-being and his position gives him access to jets and private clinics she might need to ensure her safety."

Bart stood up, waving his finger angrily. "No, you're not involving Dimitri Marick. He's far too high profile for Anna."

"High profile? He's my _husband_! I'm can't keep this from him!"

"I'm not letting you involve him," Bart's tone was resolute. "If you persist I won't take you to her…in fact, I think that maybe I made a mistake coming here. You don't understand the danger she's in.".

"Nice," she mumbled. "I've known you less than ten minutes and you're already blackmailing me."

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep Anna alive," Bart shot back. "This _was_ a mistake."

He got up, ready to leave the room but Alex jumped up after him with lightning speed. She grabbed his arm.

"Don't even think about it…" she started, before the room started spinning around her. _Damn it, not now. _Getting up too fast made her so dizzy sometimes. Enough so this time that she had to close her eyes and hold on to something to keep from stumbling.

Bart grabbed one of her arms. "What's wrong?"

"_You_. You and your tactics, that's what's wrong," she said softly, opening her eyes as she took a deep breath.

He didn't press the fact that she averted his question. "I'm just trying to keep Anna alive. I'm not telling you it has to be his way for my own pleasure."

"Dimitri is _not_ going to pose a risk to Anna!"

"That's not your decision to make! I don't want him to know and that's final," he repeated, letting her know it was the end of the discussion.

Alex clenched her fist wanting to tell him _exactly_ what she thought but she stopped herself. A part of her was grateful to this man for saving Anna and helping her stay safe all these years. Another part of her hated the way he seemed to control every aspect of her sister's life, dictating who could see her and what truths she deserved to know. "Look, I don't want to argue with you," she finally conceded. "If Anna's ill, I want to help her. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her life."

Bart expression towards her softened for the first time, "Good. Because we don't have time to waste."

"I have to tell Robin. Anna is her mother. She has a right to know."

Bart nodded. "Fine. Tell Robin. But no one else can know."

"I think I got it."

Bart leaned in towards her, "I'm not sure you do. When I say no one, I mean no one. Not your husband, not your son, not your security detail, not your work partner, not your best friend, do you understand?"

Already his condescension irritated her. "For the last time, I _understand_. Tell me what you want me to do."

"Meet me at the Pine Cone motel tomorrow night. You and Robin, I guess. Bring whatever medical supplies you think you'll need and most importantly whatever papers you have on you. Passport, drivers licence, social security card, you name it. Anna may need your papers to leave the country."

Alex nodded, "Fine. Then what?"

"I also want you to bring winter clothes. Water-proof jackets, hat, gloves, boots. You'll need them for where we're going."

"Which is where exactly?"

"We're going to drive to Thunder Bay, Ontario then on to a small town called Sioux Lookout. After that we'll take a logging road another fifty miles north, into the bush. Then we take a floatplane to the Indian reservation where Anna's staying."

"Drive? It'll take forever. Why don't we fly?"

"I don't want there to be any records of us entering the country, which there will be if we fly. Our license plate will be checked. Our individual papers won't be."

"Fine…" Alex sighed. Obviously he wasn't going to give her an ounce of control. "I'll meet you at six o'clock tomorrow at the Pine Cone motel." She didn't want to waste any more time arguing with him. "What am I supposed to tell my husband exactly?"

Bart shrugged his shoulders, "You're a smart lady. You'll think of something."

He turned around, ready to leave but then he paused and stopped. "I'm sorry if I'm being uncompromising, but I'm only doing this for Anna's safety. I am grateful that you're helping me…helping _her_."

"How can I not? She's my sister."

"Thank you."

Alex watched him leave the room, closing her eyes as she tried to digest everthing she'd been told.

Anna was alive. Part of her wanted to run to the airport and try to find her on her own, at this very moment, not having the patience to wait a single moment.

Furthermore, she didn't trust Bart Milton. 'Why would he wait until she's this sick before deciding to contact her family? Family that he obviously knew were out there for her.'

She stared out the window, watching the rain again. 'What if Anna is seriously ill? What if I _can't_ help her?' She shuddered at the thought, her mind flashing back to the day Dimitri first came to see her. He'd gone to countless doctors before her and she'd been his last hope.

"I won't even consider it…" she told herself with more confidence than she felt. "How could I tell Robin her mother's alive and then tell her I can't help her?" She rubbed her temples, annoyed at the headache that had accompanied her all day and the fact that she still felt light-headed. She hated the side-effects of her anemia and she knew her reluctance to adjust her life to them only magnified them.

She took a sip of water from the glass that stood on her desk, wishing the dizziness would pass. She thought of what Dimitri told her the night before, about the ominous feelings he'd been having. 'I wonder if this could have something to do with what Bart just told me. But... this is anything but bad. Finding my sister...it's incredible!'

She glanced at the time on her Omega watch, noticing that the Marick diamonds on the watch face glistened in the light of her desk lamp. It was just before six o'clock, almost midnight, in London.

"Sorry my friend," she mumbled as she dialed Sanjay's home number. "I hope I'm not waking you."

She heard his voice on the other end; that warm, familiar East Indian-English accent she knew so well. "Hi, it's me…how are you?…No, I'm fine. I know it's late but I need your help in setting up something for me…I can't tell you who it's for just yet but I wouldn't ask you if it weren't important." She spoke with him for several minutes; relieved to hear him assure her that he would arrange whatever she needed, with just the right amount of discretion.

After Alex put the phone down, she noticed her hands were still shaking and she clasped them together. 'Anna's alive…my sister's alive.' She couldn't quite bring herself to believe it. 'How in the world will I tell Robin?' she wondered. If the news had shaken her, how would her sister's only daughter react?

She forced herself to get up and leave the office to search for Robin.

_Valley Inn, Pine Valley, PA_

Jan walked into Cesar Faison's suite only to find him staring blankly into the wall.

"Is something wrong?" he asked his boss, not sure if he'd ever seen him like this.

"Anna's alive…" he replied, still staring into the wall.

"What?"

Faison turned to look at him, an enormous smile on his face, "I said Anna's alive.'"

Jan pursed his lips wondering if his boss had finally lost it. "That's not possible."

"I wouldn't have believed it had if I hadn't heard it with my own ears."

Jan gave him a perplexed look, "What do you mean?"

"The bug I put in Alexandra's office… it turns out it's worth its weight in diamonds." Faison laughed a delirious laugh, "Marick Diamonds even."

"I don't understand…"

"A man by the name of Bart Milton came to see Alexandra today. He said he used to be an agent for the WSB, assigned to carry out the black box order against Anna. He was in Venezuela, when the tanker exploded. Apparently he was standing on the pier when it blew up and he jumped into the water, to save Anna's life."

"He _saved _Anna from drowning?"

Faison nodded. "That's what he told Alexandra. He also told her that he wasn't too happy about it. He didn't know what to do with Anna and thought that saving her would ruin his good name. He then decided to take her to Canada where he's from."

"She went along with him?"

"She had amnesia…and according to him, she still does. But she's starting to remember..."

Faison's voice drifted off and Jan knew that Faison was wondering whether Anna remembered him. "So, why does he come to Alexandra with the news after all these years?"

With that question Faison frowned, "He said she's ill. Plagued by headaches that are severe enough to render her unconscious."

Jan sat down, shocked by the news, "I guess that's where the twin neurologist comes in."

Faison nodded. "If she were with me, I'd make sure she got the best care in the world."

"What are you going to do?" Jan asked him, ignoring the remark, knowing the news would turn Faison's world upside down. If Anna was alive, Alexandra no longer mattered.

"Ideally I would get to her before Alexandra and Bart do, but all he said was that they live in an isolated cabin, reachable only by canoe, north of Thunder Bay. Finding her with those directions would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

"So we tail them on their way north?"

Faison shook his head. "Far too obvious and next to impossible given the isolation of the roads they'll travel on. Bart Milton is staying at the Pine Cone motel. He is meeting Alexandra and Robin there tomorrow evening. In the meantime, I want you to go to the motel, find the old man's rental car and put a tracking device on it. It will most likely have an Ontario license plate so it shouldn't be difficult. If there's more than one call me, and I'll pinpoint his. Then we can follow them at a safe distance."

"Yes, of course."

"While you do this, I'm going to use the DVX database to find out some more information on Milton and what might have prompted him to do what he did."

Jan observed him, marvelling at the change in him since hearing the news. It was as though he was suddenly alive again, infinitely more alive than he'd been in years. He wondered what it was must be like to love someone as much as Faison obviously loved Anna. The power of an emotion strong enough to change a enitre person's outlook, was something that intrigued him.

Faison beamed and turned to Jan, "I know you don't understand what I feel for this woman..."

"I don't," Jan admitted. "But I can't help but notice the change in you. Maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps you _are_ destined to be with her."

Faison laughed, still giddy and breathless from the news. "I'd stake my life on that fact. I never doubted it for one moment. Not for one moment, Jan."

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

She saw David Hayward from a distance, sitting on a chair in the corridor, running his fingers through his thick hair, mumbling something, in obvious frustration. He was wearing a leather jacket, as if he'd come from checking on a patient on his way home.

In spite of her lingering irritation, Robin walked towards him. "You okay?" It was a stupid question. He wasn't okay. In fact, Robin could swear he was fighting back tears. He looked like a doctor who'd just lost a patient.

"It wasn't supposed to turn out this way…" he mumbled, not acknowledging her presence.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

He looked up to meet her eyes. "Look, I'm not up to round ten with you, right now. If you don't mind."

Robin kneeled down next to him, "Did something happened to Lakeesha?" Although the teenage girl wasn't one of Robin's patients, she'd heard about her. The girl was in desperate need of a heart transplant and in spite of her failing health she'd endeared herself to most of the hospital staff with her optimism.

David stared at her blankly, "Lakeesha's heart stopped. We pronounced her a few minutes ago."

Robin gasped, "Oh no...I'm so sorry."

David shook his head angrily, "She wanted to live so badly...she_ deserved_ to live."

"I'm sure you did everything you could..." Robin tried, taken aback by the intensity of his grief. David Hayward kept surprising her. Cocky and irreverant one minute, sad and angry at the world's injustices the next. She was beginning to realize that he was exactly the kind of doctor she'd want treating her. The kind who cared enough to fight for you.

"She needed a damn heart, not for me to do my best," he shot back. "She would've been the same age as Josie next week..."

Robin couldn't think of anything else to say. There were no words.

She wanted to do something to comfort him. Hating that she didn't know what to do. Hating that she'd yelled at him only minutes ago. It all seemed so petty now.

She saw Alex approach them.

"David, you're still here...what's wrong?" her aunt asked.

"Lakeesha died," Robin said softly.

Alex's face sank, "Oh no...David, I'm sorry." She embraced David and Robin was suddenly was both grateful and envious that Alex could do what she couldn't. Comfort him.

"I'll be alright," Robin heard him whisper to Alex. "Really, I will. I have to go and get Josie."

Alex squeezed his arm. "Give her an extra hug from me tonight, okay?"

David nodded. "You bet."

Robin waited until he left before turning to her aunt.

"Does it get easier?"

"Hmmm...?"

"Losing a patient?"

Alex leaned against the wall and shook her head, "I wish I could say it does."

"How do you stop letting it get to you?"

"You don't. Because if you do, you start to forget how much is at stake."

Robin gave her a lopsided smile, "You're amazing, you know that right?"

"Robin's there's something I need to talk to you about," she told her, her expression serious.

"I should really get back to my floor," Robin told her, eyeing her watch.

Alex put her arm on Robin's shoulder, "Not yet. Let's go back to my office first."

"Can it wait until tomorrow?"

"No." Alex shook her head, "It can't wait."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII**

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA _

_Andrassy Foundation Office_

Alex sat down and gestured for Robin to do the same.

"I really don't have much time right now..." Robin argued, not sure why exactly her aunt had summoned her into her office.

"Please," Alex insisted. Obviously she wasn't going to take no for an anwer.

Alex's eyes were serious and Robin tried in vain to read them. She felt a bit like a teenager again, a feeling she wasn't sure she enjoyed. "Alright..." She took a seat across from Alex. "What's up?"

Alex took a deep breath. "After you left my office today, a man by the name of Bart Milton came to see me."

Her aunt paused long enough to give Robin a chance to tell her that she'd never heard the name before.

"He said he used to worked for the WSB," Alex explained. "In fact, he said he was one of the men sent to carry out the black box order against your mother."

At the mention of that, Robin's brows narrowed. "Why...why would he come to see you, after all these years? To tell you _that_?" Robin hated the WSB for destroying her mother's name, when she knew without a doubt that her mother would never have abandoned her family to run off with Cesar Faison. Not knowingly and _certainly_ not willingly.

Alex's voice was soft, as if gauging her reaction. "He said he was in Venezuela at the time of the explosion that killed your parents."

"He was _there_?" Robin looked at her in disbelief. "So I guess he was glad that the explosion took care of the job for him?"

Alex ignored the comment. "He said he stood on the pier, when the tanker exploded. That the blast from the explosion forced him to jump into the water." Alex paused again, weighing her words. "He saw Anna in the water, when he jumped in. He said your mother was badly injured and about to drown."

Robin couldn't stop the tears that filled her eyes now. The thought of her mother's life being brought to an abrupt end in a fiery hell still broke her heart, even now, so many years later. The only thought that_ had_ offered her any consolation was the knowledge that her father had reached her mother before they died. She believed they died together, in each other's arms. Robin didn't know whether or not that was the truth and she didn't care. It was _her_ truth. A truth that Alex was now on the verge of shattering.

"What do you mean he saw her in the water?"

"He saw that she was about to drown and pulled her out of the water."

"He pulled her out and _then_ she died?"

Alex shook her head. "No."

"You're saying she didn't die during the explosion?" Robin felt her heart break all over again. "That she survived and died later? _Alone?"_

Alex's gaze didn't waver from hers. "Bart took her to a hospital after he pulled her out of the water. The doctors told him her chances of survival were slim. He assumed she was going to die so he didn't tell anyone he saved her."

"He left her to die? _Alone_, in a foreign hospital?" Tears tumbled down her cheeks mercilessly now. "So why the hell would he come here to tell you that? Is he dying and needs forgiveness? I hope you told him to go to hell!"

Alex stood up to put her arms around her. "Robin, sweetie…he didn't come here to ask for forgiveness. He came here to tell me that your mom didn't die, that she's still alive."

"No, that's not possible, Alex," Robin shot back, without hesitation.

Alex pulled out a photograph from her desk. "He brought me this."

"No." Robin closed her eyes refusing to look at it. "I don't believe you. My mom _can't_ be alive. She wouldn't have kept that from me all these years. It's not possible. If you knew her, you would know that too."

"She had amnesia, Robin. She didn't remember anything."

Robin lips were clenched, fighting a sudden wave of nausea. She stood up and pushed her chair away from Alex's desk. "No, Alex. My mom would never forget me or Dad. She wouldn't. That man lied to you."

Concern was etched in Alex's face now. "Robin, please. Look at the picture. Tell me that this isn't your mom."

Robin turned away, refusing. "Photographs can be doctored, faked…you know that."

"Please, Robin…"

"No. It's not true. I don't believe it!"

Robin felt Alex's hand on her cheek, gently turning her face towards her. "Robin, just look at the picture. For me, please?"

Robin's lower lip trembled as Alex held up the photograph. There was a woman in the photo, sitting on the porch of a log cabin, her arms around a little girl. Her hair was longer than Alex's and slightly darker, but still shorter than how Robin remembered it being. The woman's eyes lit up as she smiled and Robin could swear there was a trace of mischief in them.

There was no doubt. None. The woman in the photograph _was_ her mother.

Robin felt her knees buckle, as Alex's hold on her tightened.

_"Robin!"_

Her aunt half lifted, half pushed her to the sofa. "Come on, Robin, you're a tough girl. Don't scare me like this."

Robin wasn't sure what happened next, but when she came to, she felt a cool washcloth on her cheeks. Alex was sitting next to her, taking her pulse, her face full of relief when Robin opened her eyes.

"It's alright, Robin, you're okay..." Alex gave her a lopsided smile. "You scared me, sweetheart."

Robin didn't feel okay. But Alex's voice almost convinced her she was. Her aunt handed her a glass of water and Robin sipped its contents.

Alex brushed a strand of hair behind her face, "Take a deep breath for me, okay?"

Robin did as she asked.

"Again, sweetie." Alex squeezed her hand. "You don't want me to have to admit you, do you?"

Robin managed a meagre smile. "You wouldn't do that…" she said, testing her voice. "Is it…is it really true, Alex?"

Alex nodded. "I don't think Bart Milton was lying. It would make no sense. Even his reasons for keeping Anna's existence a secret make sense, in their own twisted way."

"But why did he come to see you now, after all this time?" Robin asked, not sure whether she was ready to accept this miracle.

Alex frowned. "Bart says that your mom suffered from head injuries during the explosion. The injuries were undoubtedly responsible for the amnesia, and when she started to remember things… according to Bart, the memories triggered something that caused her to..become ill."

Robin bit her lip, feeling the tears well up again. "What do you mean ill?"

"Bart says she has severe headaches. That she's weak. I don't know what else, Robin. That's where we come in. He needs us to figure out what's wrong with her and to do it with her safety in mind. She probably won't be able to come to the States yet. He says the black box order still stands and that she'd be arrested on charges of treason."

"How sick is she, Alex?"

"I don't know, Robin. Honestly, I don't know. Bart mentioned the headaches, but given her amnesia and her injuries, headaches of that nature are not unusual. I'm sure once I'm able to pinpoint what's causing them and treat her, she's going to be just fine."

Robin said nothing, still unable to digest everything. Her mother was alive. But she was ill.

"You have faith in me, as a doctor. Don't you?"

Robin nodded, taking another sip of water. To say she had faith in her aunt's skills was an understatement. She was easily one of the country's foremost neurologists. She couldn't have asked for a better physician to look after her mother. More importantly, Robin loved and trusted Alex. She trusted her to do whatever it would take to make her mother well and keep her safe.

"Does she remember anything about me at all?"

"I don't think so," Alex said softly. Regretfully. "I'm sorry."

Robin managed another smile. The reality of it all was starting to sink in. "It's okay. I mean, this is _amazing_. It's a miracle. My mom's…she's…alive."

She couldn't control her tears this time and she started to sob.

"Shhh…" Alex held her tight. "It's going to be okay. _Everything_ is going to be okay."

_Wildwind Estate, Pine Valley, PA _

_Later_

Dimitri Marick walked along the hallway of Wildwind's second floor and peeked inside his son's bedroom, not surprised to find Alex there as well. Both of their heads were hunched over a notebook, their expressions identical.

They didn't see him in the doorway and he used the opportunity to observe them.

The two of them had such a deep bond. Each time he saw them together he felt a twinge of regret and a touch of envy. For the first seven years of his son's life, Max had barely known his father existed. Seven long years that he'd never be able to make up for. Dimitri hated that he hadn't been able to see Max grow up. Hated that there was no way to ever make up for it.

"_Que-ce que tu fais, mon petit Comte_?" he asked Max in French, as he stepped into the room. It was one small thing he alone shared with his son. Max had learned French while living in Paris with Robin and he himself had to learn it growing up at Vadsel. French being the language of the aristocracy.

"_Je fais mes devoirs avec Maman_," Max answered him slyly, watching his mother for a reaction. Knowing she wouldn't be ablew to understand a word.

"Oh stop it, you two," she groaned. "Multi-lingual show offs."

"_Il faut qu'elle apprenne le francais, n'est-ce pas_?" Dimitri told his son, grinning.

Max returned his grin, "_Oui_."

Alex got up to give Dimitri a kiss. "He's telling you to get lost, isn't he?" she whispered in his ear, making him laugh.

"Can I steal your Mom for a sec?" Dimitri asked him.

Max shook his head and wrinkled his nose. "No."

Dimitri pulled Alex towards the door. "Come on, be fair. You've had her all evening."

"But you already know how to do multiplication and division…" Max whined.

Dimitri grinned. "I'm sure there's some things about math that your Mom can still teach me."

"Like what?" Max asked him, scrunching up his lips.

Dimitri was already out the door with Alex, winking at his son, as he closed it behind him. "You know…_things_."

Alex smirked and waved to Max, "I'll be back once your Dad knows how to add and subtract."

"So what's this about you going away with Robin for a few days?" Dimitri asked her as he led her down the stairs.

Dimitri could have sworn he saw her cringing, just before she averted his gaze. "I told you, we're just going to Port Charles to visit Mac and some of Robin's friends."

"Why now?" Dimitri pressed. When Alex had first told him about the trip, she'd called from her drive home, and he could have sworn, she called precisely then, so she wouldn't have to give him any details. Because he worried enough about her reckless driving that he didn't want her to have lenghty phone conversations at the same time. A fact she knew all too well. "Can't it wait until Christmas break, then Max and I will join you."

Alex shrugged her shoulders, eyeing him as he reached for a jacket from the coat rack. "Robin wanted to go now and she asked me to come along, so I said yes, that's all. Mac's expecting us now."

Dimitri pulled out a jacket for her as well and lifted it for her to pull her arms through. "Where are we going?" she asked, puzzled.

"It's a beautiful late Fall evening. I wanted to go out for a stroll on the grounds."

Alex yawned. "How about we stay inside next to the fireplace and have hot chocolate with marshmallows instead?"

Dimitri grinned, "A _short _walk. The fresh air will be good for you, after being cooped up in that office all day." He grabbed a flashlight, from a shelf next to the coat rack and gave her a gentle push outside.

"Slave driver…" she mumbled.

Once outside, she watched him light a cigar in the darkness. "That's really why you wanted to come out here, isn't it? These things are going to kill you one day. Do you have any idea how many chemicals are in cigars?" she chided him.

"I want you to take O'Malley with you, when you go to Port Charles with Robin," he told her casually, as they walked towards a bench next to a pond. It was beautiful outside on the grounds. Crisp and clear, chilly but not cold.

"Oh no." Alex took a step back. "I'm not taking a guard with me. No way."

"It's not just... a guard. It's Shawn." Shawn O'Malley was the head of his security detail. The man who had helped him break into Brynn Wydd and ultimately kill Charlotte Devane. Next to his brother, O'Malley was the one man Dimitri would trust with his life, without a moment's hesitation.

Alex sat down on a bench and looked at him, as though she didn't have the energy for another argument. "You coaxed me out here because you didn't want us to argue in front of Max."

Dimitri cringed. She knew him far too well.

"I'm going to visit Mac with Robin," she tried to reason. "It's a_ leisure_ trip. The last thing I want is a body guard tagging along."

"Please?" He draped his arm over her shoulder, trying a different approach to her stubbornness. "For _me_."

Alex sighed and again she averted his eyes. There was something she wasn't telling him, Dimitri was sure of it. He could read her just as easily as she read him. He wanted to probe, wanted to have her tell him what she wouldn't.

But he didn't.

If she was keeping something from him, he figured she had her reasons. Much as he wanted to know, he respected her enough to give her whatever time she needed before telling him.

A whiff of cigar smoke blew in her direction and Dimitri waved it away.

They sat in silence for a while, until finally Alex gave him a lopsided smile, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Alright. Fine. You win"

Dimitri gave her a shocked look in return. "Just like that?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "If it gives you peace of mind, we'll take O'Malley along. But what about Max? O'Malley always keeps a special eye out for Max at Wildwind."

"I'll be here until you get back. I'll make sure Max is safe."

"What if something goes wrong at the mine and you have to leave at the last minute?"

She had a point. Something always, inevitably, came up at the Marick mine that forced Dimitri to fly up to the Arctic Circle, sometimes as often as twice a week. Whether it was a broken dump truck, a particularly exciting find or an injured worker, it didn't matter. The Marick mine was his baby and Dimitri liked to solve its problems and share in its victories in person.

"They'll have to do without me for a few days," he told her. He noticed she was shivering in the crisp night air and pulled her towards him. "It's the least I could do in exchange for letting me have my way for a change."

Alex chuckled. "Am I really that difficult?"

He put out his cigar and looked into the moonlit sky above him. "You _are_ difficult…" he whispered, returning her grin. "But worth it."

"Thanks...I think."

He stood up, pulling her up alongside him, laughing when she stumbled over an exposed root, and slipped into his arms. "Too much port after dinner, darling?"

She laughed too. "Maybe...you have to tell Edmund to stop bringing you that stuff from his trips to Lisbon."

"Or maybe we'll have to go and pick up some ourselves…I heard the coast of Portugal is the most beautiful place in the world."

"Not possible," she told him. "The most beautiful place in the world is right here, in your arms."

Dimitri smirked. "You're so smooth." He pulled her closer, kissing her earlobe. "Speaking of port and Portugal …have we ever really had a honeymoon?"

"I don't think so…maybe in time for our tenth anniversary?" She opened the doors of the estate, stepping inside ahead of him.

Dimitri took off her jacket and turned on the light in the darkened hallway, noticing for the first time that she looked not only tired, but on edge. Something was bothering her and he wondered whether it had anything to do with what she wouldn't tell him. Sometimes he almost wished he _wouldn't _be able to read her quite as easily. At least she agreed to take O'Malley to Port Charles. That was a weight off his shoulders. If anyone wold make sure she stayed safe, it was Shawn.

"So where should we go for our honeymoon?"

She grinned. "Upstairs to the fireplace. Hot chocolate and marshmallows."

"Funny."

She laughed. "Come to think of it, I couldn't think of a better way to spend our honeymoon."

"In that case…what are we waiting for?" Before she could protest, he scooped her up in his arms and made his way up the staircase. "Let's honeymoon."

Brooke and Edmund emerged from the study, watching as Alex squealed for him to put her down.

Brooke looked up at her husband, an amused smile on her lips. "Are you sure he's the _older_ brother?"

_Valley Inn, Pine Valley, PA_

"It's a beautiful night out tonight," Jan announced as he walked into Cesar Faison's hotel suite. He saw Faison hunched over a lap top computer, a half-filled glass of cognac stood on the table next to him.

"Is it done?" he asked, without taking his eyes off the computer screen.

"The car? Yes, it's done. I've put the tracking device underneath the trunk. It's a green Ford Taurus and just as you suspected, it was the only car with an Ontario plate at the motel. I took down the licence plate number and traced it back to an Avis rental car agency in a place called Sioux Lookout near Thunder Bay."

Faison raised his head to face him, a smile on his lips. "We try harder, don't we Jan? I've run a background scan on Bart Milton and the story he told Alexandra checks out as well. He did work for the WSB, retiring only days after the explosion. He went to Canada because his mother was Canadian and had a house, or rather a cabin, there. It's all true."

"So we follow them up north. Then what?" Jan asked him, unsure of what exactly Faison had in mind.

"I've arranged for two of my men to meet us in Canada, as backup."

Jan offered him a puzzled expression. "Why? There's only going to be the three of them, Alexandra, Robin and Bart. Surely the two of us can take them on."

"And Anna. Don't count her out," Faison corrected him. "You're also forgetting Alexandra was trained at Brynn Wydd, together with Bart and Anna they could be too much for us, especially if they're armed and considering they're living in the middle of the wilderness, I'm assuming they will be."

"Alright…we take them on, four of us versus four of them. Fair enough and then what?"

Faison stared into the wall, as though Jan was no longer in the room, his mind far way.

"_Anna_," he mumbled. "Then we get Anna. That's the only thing that matters."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter XIII**

_Wildwind Estate, Pine Valley, PA_

Robin sat in the rear seat of Alex's white Mercedes, watching the rain fall outside, while waiting for her aunt to join her.

Her eyelids were heavy and tired. Even though Alex had dragged her home to Wildwind yesterday, to rest instead of work, she hadn't been able to sleep for a single minute since then.

All she could think of was her mother. How would her mother react when she saw her? Would she remember anything? Would she be nothing but a stranger to her now? Would she push her away?

Robin tried to think of her mother's amnesia as a physician. 'She didn't want to forget you,' she told her herself over and over. 'It's a physical condition over which she had no control. You can't blame her for this.'

_I needed you so much, Mom. How could you not have felt that?_

"Stop it," she chided herself. She opened the window, to let in whiff of fresh, moist air. She ran her index finger along the window's edge, trying to think of something, _anything_, else.

A sudden gush of heavy rain swooped over the hood of the car, a thousand needles of water, trying in vain to pierce the engine cover. Looking at the white, wet hood made Robin remember how Alex ended up with the car in the first place, and the thought brought a welcome smile to her face.

In the summer months, when Alex had been looking for vehicle to buy, Dimitri had accidentally seen some of the options she was considering and told Robin about them.

"There's no way I'm letting her drive something that belongs on a Formula One racetrack!" Dimitri had announced to Robin when they had breakfast together one morning. "No way. As if she isn't reckless enough as it is."

"There are lots of Porsches on the streets these days, Dimitri," Robin had countered. In a stark contrast to her aunt, Dimitri was the slowest, most meticulous driver she had ever met. "Besides, how are you going to stop her? You know how she is when she sets her heart on something..."

Dimitri had given her a sly smile in return. "You'll see."

Only days later he'd given Alex the white Mercedes as a gift. Robin had laughed when she first saw it. The sturdy four-door vehicle came with a reinforced frame and various customized safety features. In short, it could do several rolls down a ravine without so much as scratching the passenger inside. Even the colour made Robin grin; Alex would never have chosen white, but it was exactly what she'd have expected Dimitri to pick.

While the car wasn't what Alex would have chosen, Robin knew she'd end up loving it. Not only because it was still a sleek, fast car but simply because Dimitri had given it to her. Exactly as Dimitri knew she would. 'Clever man,' Robin admitted, marveling at how often he made it appear as though Alex was getting her way, when it reality it was the opposite. 'Is that the key to a happy marriage?' she wondered. 'Clever compromise?'

Robin saw Alex step outside now, underneath the canopy of Wildwind's front doors. Shawn O'Malley stood next to her.

Robin rolled down the window further, in an attempt to hear their conversation, but the pounding rain made it hard. Robin liked O'Malley. Sometimes, he reminded her of a younger, more athletic version Sean Donely. O'Malley had a pair of warm, wide-set eyes and easy congeniality that made it easy to trust him. It was easy to see why, next to Edmund and Brooke, he was the only person Dimitri and Alex entrusted to protect Max in their absence. Yet, his easy-going nature was decpetive. Alex had once told her that he was ex-Secret Service, a man who wouldn't think twice about shooting an intruder point-blank in order to keep them from harm. Apparently he'd also been instrumental in helping Alex and Dimitri break into Charlotte Devane's compound in Wales last year. A high-risk operation that had resulted in Charlotte's death.

Now, Robin saw O'Malley eyes narrow as he gave Alex a concerned look. The rain was letting up and she could finally catch snippets of their conversation.

"We're not going to Port Charles?" O'Malley asked.

"No." Alex shook her head. "We're going to Canada. I packed some winter gear for you last night as well."

"Canada?"

"I can't tell you why just yet, it's a surprise for Dimitri. I'll give you more details as we get closer to our destination but I need you to keep this from my husband for the time being."

Robin could tell that O'Malley didn't like the sudden change in plans. He told Alex as much. "I don't keep secrets from Mr. Marick. "

"It's not so much a secret as it is...a surprise. I don't want it to be spoiled, that's all."

"Alright...for now," O'Malley conceded. "But if we come across anything that poses a threat to yourself or Dr. Scorpio, I won't hesitate to contact your husband. He'd have every right to fire me if I didn't."

Robin smirked. As loyal as O'Malley was to Dimitri, she knew that he adored Alex. That maybe if he didn't, he wouldn't have given in as easily.

Robin chatted with him sometimes at Wildwind. Although he wasn't a man of many words, Robin liked what he had to say. She remembered grinning when she'd pestered him about what he thought about Dimitri and all he said was that you could tell a lot about a man by the woman he chose as his wife. That it meant Dimitri Marick was definitely a good guy.

Robin remembered smiling when he said it. "Who _knew_ you were a closet romantic?"

She'd bugged him about the state of his romantic life then too, but that's when he become a man of even fewer words and clammed up. Alex had told her he'd been married once, but that was as much as she knew. That she'd never seen or heard him mention a woman.

Robin saw Alex agreeing with O'Malley, bringing her back to the present.

"Fair enough. But please trust me on this."

"As long as you trust me to do whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe."

"You know I do," Alex answered him. She opened her umbrella for the sprint to the car and offered to cover O'Malley with it as well, but he declined with a grin.

Robin watched him make his way towards the car, opening the door of the back seat to join her. He gave her a smirk as soon as he got in, "Nice weather, huh, Robin?"

She nodded, returning his smile, remembering how long it took to finally get him to call her by her first name rather than Doctor Scorpio. She was glad to have both him and Alex in the car, hoping their presence would stop her mind from thinking of her mother, if only for a few minutes at a time.

She saw Alex eyeing her from the rear-view mirror, her lips mouthing, "Ready?"

Robin met her glance, and nodded nervously. "Yeah. I think so."

Her aunt gave her a thumbs-up signal, before turning on the windshield wipers and speeding out of the Wildwind driveway.

_Pine Cone Motel, Pine Valley, PA_

Bart glanced at his watch once more as he stared out the window of his motel room, watching the rain fall onto the pavement of the parking lot outside.

"Where the hell are they?" he wondered. It was already half an hour later than their planned meeting time and he was anxious to make his way back to Anna. He'd phoned Joseph earlier and immediately sensed that something wasn't right. There was something the Native man didn't want to tell him in his monosyllabic answers. He'd asked to speak to Anna but Joseph had told him she was sleeping. That he didn't want to wake her.

"At four in the afternoon?"

"She was tired, so I told her to rest. That's what you wanted isn't it? For her to take it easy." Bart thought he'd detected a trace of poorly masked hostility in Joseph's voice.

"Are you sure everything's alright?"

"Where are you?" Joseph asked him. "Anna's bugging me. You know how she hates to be kept in the dark."

"It doesn't matter now. I'm on my way back. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I have to go now. Cecilia wants to use the phone."

"Joseph…" It was too late. He'd hung up. "Damn."

Bart glanced at his watch again. He hated unpunctuality and the phone call with Joseph had put him in a restless mood. He stepped outside to light a cigarette, when he suddenly saw a white Mercedes pull into the parking lot.

He recognized Alex in the drivers seat and then did a double take when he noticed a third person next to Robin in the back seat. "What the…?" He felt a red, hot anger rise from the base of his throat. How could she have blatantly disregarded his orders to keep this from anyone but Robin?

Alex stopped the car, opened the door and caught his angry expression.

"Wait here. I won't be long," Bart heard her say to the man and Robin. "I think I need to explain a couple of things to him."

In spite of what she said, the man followed her outside. "I need to meet this guy and see what I'm in for."

Bart glared at Alex. "Who the hell is he?"

"Do you mind if we go inside?" she asked. "It's pouring out here."

Bart didn't budge, blocking the entrance of his motel room. "I asked you who he is?"

"Listen," the stranger stepped up next to him. "There's no reason to have this conversation in the rain."

The stranger's cockiness only served to heighten Bart's anger. "Who are you to give me orders?"

"Buddy, if you don't let us inside right now, we're all going to leave. Before Doctor Marick has a chance to offer you any sort of explanation."

Bart switched his hostile glare from Alex to the stranger. He'd spent enough time in the WSB to recognize a trained professional. The man was obviously Alex's bodyguard. "Fine." He opened the door of the motel room and the three of them entered.

"Now if you'll tell me what kind of games you're playing," Bart demanded turning his attention back to Alex.

Alex shook the water off her jacket. "No games. Bart, this is Shawn O'Malley. He's the Head of Security at Wildwind and I trust him implicitly. My husband wanted him to come along, for my safety; mine and Robin's. I didn't want to make him even more suspicious by refusing him."

"You're making _me_ suspicious now," O'Malley cut in. "What kind of trip_ is_ this, Dr. Marick?"

"And what exactly _did_ you tell Dimitri?" Bart added.

Bart's anger and O'Malley's suspicion made her defensive, "Look, I told him we were going to Port Charles to visit Mac, that's all."

Bart raised his eyebrows, thinking that surely someone with her credentials couldn't possibly be _this_ stupid. "You did _what_? Mac Scorpio in Port Charles? All it will take is one phone call from your husband to discover that you're not there, and Commissioner Scorpio will put out an APB on you faster that you can snap your fingers!" He sat down on his bed, running his fingers through his hair. "Good Lord, tell me this isn't happening…"

Alex's cheeks reddened. "Listen...first of all, I had to come up with a _plausible_ explanation. My husband is not an idiot. I couldn't exactly tell him that Robin and I were going for an extended drive through the countryside. As for him calling Mac, I can assure you Dimitri only calls me on my cell."

"You didn't answer _my_ question, Dr. Marick," O'Malley persisted.

Alex sighed, "It's hard to explain...this man, Bart Milton. He knows where my sister is. She's ill and she needs my help."

"Your sister?" O'Malley looked at her in disbelief. "As in Robin's mom? Anna Devane? But she's..."

"Not dead," Bart finished for him. God, what a mess. Would this guy possibly keep this a secret from his employer?

"If...if she's not dead, then she's wanted by the WSB, isn't she? A Black Box order, if I'm not mistaken?"

"It's why he couldn't bring her here for me to treat her," Alex explained softly. "It's why we need to go to her."

"Do you understand the need for discretion here?" Bart pointed out.

"I understand that this could be dangerous."

"Are you armed?" Bart asked him, changing the subject.

"Yes."

"What kind of weapon?" Bart asked him.

"None of your business."

"It's a standard, .45 caliber Colt, semi-automatic," Alex answered for him, ignoring the tension between the two men. "Now can we get going?"

Bart nodded. "Fine. But you'll have to get rid of the gun before we cross the border, in case we do get stopped."

"I thought you said we _won't_ get stopped?" Alex asked him

"We probably won't, but you never know for sure."

"If we do, I'll turn it in," O'Malley told him. "I have nothing to hide. The weapon is registered and licensed. If we don't I'd just as soon hang on to it."

Bart lifted his duffel bag off the bed, ready to put it in the trunk of his rental car. "It's going to be a long drive and since we have a fourth body we might as well split into two and two."

Alex eyed O'Malley. "I want Robin to stay with me."

"As long as we stay within view of each other's cars," O'Malley agreed. "That's fine by me." He turned to Bart, "Besides, I have a whole boatload of questions for you."

Bart snickered, "You want to grill me is what you mean." He handed Alex a map, "Try to stay close to me. We're going to head west first through Ohio and then directly north, along Interstate 75, to Sault Ste. Marie, where we cross into Canada. I want to reach the border tonight before we take a break, because the next stretch after that is even longer."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Tell me again why we're not flying?"

"I explained this to you already," he told her, still irritated.

He paused, long enough to take a good look at her, blown away once again by her staggering resemblance to Anna, even more so now when she wore a casual black, cashmere sweater and dark, denim jeans. 'How in the world is Anna going to react when she sees you?' he thought. Seeing her daughter would be difficult enough without throwing an unknown twin into the equation. "Your husband seems very protective of you," he pointed out instead.

"Unfortunately I've given him reason to be. Especially since our son was kidnapped last year."

Bart threw the motel room key on the bed and ushered them outside, chuckling. "Let's just hope he hasn't put a tracking device on your car."

Alex gave him a sarcastic smile. "Funny."

_Two blocks away_

"They're leaving," Jan told Faison, as he observed the moving black dot on his hand held tracking device.

"Good," Faison replied putting the engine of their black Lincoln Towne car into drive. "I was starting to think we were going to have to spend the night here." He took his time taking the local street to the Interstate. The idea was to remain at least twenty miles behind Bart's Taurus for the entire journey to avoid being spotted, especially once they left the busier highways and headed north. The tracking device would become truly imperative only after they'd crossed the border.

"I assume they're going to cross at Sault Ste. Marie," Faison mumbled.

"It certainly looks closer on the map," Jan agreed. The distances in North America never ceased to impress him. In twelve hours, he could have easily crossed Germany from north to south, especially on the _autobahns_ that imposed no speed limit. Here they would barely cover three states in the same time. "Then again, they might go through Illinois and cross in Minnesota, who knows?"

"Do you think they're taking two cars?" Faison asked.

Jan shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know."

"I hope not. That means that Bart could get rid of his rental car for the final stretch and the three of them could end up in Alex's car, which we haven't tracked."

"Don't worry, by then we should be close enough to find her ourselves," Jan tried to reassure him.

Faison didn't look worried; merely perturbed at the possibility of added roadblocks on the way to the woman he loved. "Nothing is keeping me from Anna this time, Jan. _Nothing_. If I have to climb over dead bodies to get to her, then so be it. This time I will get to her."

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Bart phoned," Joseph told Anna.

She sat at the table in his kitchen holding a cup of tea in her hands. "Did he say where he was?" she asked. She tried to sound calm, vaguely disinterested even, but she doubted that Joseph bought it.

"I asked him but he wouldn't tell me." Joseph sat down next to her, looking at her. "You look better, Anna. Not so tired anymore."

Anna smirked. "It's not like you've let me do a whole lot since we did the Internet search."

"Bart said he'll be back in two days."

Anna got up to wash her cup and leaned against the sink when she was done. "I won't be here when he gets back," she told him.

Joseph frowned. "I thought we decided you were going to wait for him to get back. Give him a chance to explain."

"_You_ decided that. Not me. I'm going to go back to the cabin tomorrow morning, get my things and find a way into the States. To Port Charles. I need to find Robin."

"Just like that, with no money, no papers?"

"Bart has some money stashed away at the cabin. That will get me started. I'll get a car from Sioux Lookout and cross at night, on foot, near the Lake of the Woods. Once I'm in the States I'll make my way to Port Charles by train or bus or hitchhike if I have to...it doesn't matter."

"You don't even have a credit card or a driver's licence, how are you going to rent a car?"

"I don't know but I'll find a way."

"Hot wiring and renting are not the same, eh?"

Anna's eyes locked with his. "I _have_ to find my daughter! Can't you see that?"

"Two days ago you could barely stand up on your own, now you want to run across to the US? Wait until Bart gets back. He deserves a chance to tell you his side of the story."

Anna threw down the towel she was holding, frustrated. "I don't want to hear any more lies, Joseph! I _trusted_ Bart…" she felt her eyes start to water and she bitterly fought back the tears. 'No. Not this time...,' she told herself. 'No more tears.'

"Did you ever think that maybe…" Joseph looked tentative.

"Did I ever think…what?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me, Joseph."

He reached for a cigarette. "Did you ever think that maybe he didn't tell you because Robin's…" He stopped, unable to look at her.

"That Robin's _what_?"

"That she's not alive anymore? That maybe Bart didn't want to hurt you by telling you that, since you had no memory of her anyway?"

Anna shook her head in disbelief at what he was suggesting. "No…I don't believe that. Not for one moment. I just…it's just not possible." Joseph's words made it harder to hold back her tears. Robin couldn't be dead, not now that she finally remembered her. She _couldn't_.

"Anna, I don't want to hurt you either. I'm just saying give Bart a chance to explain before you run off on your own."

Joseph was right. She did owe Bart a chance to explain. But the thought of more lies, or a truth that she wasn't ready to accept, made her realize it didn't matter, whether or not he did. "I'm leaving tomorrow," she repeated firmly. "You can either help me or I'll do it on my own. It's up to you."

_Authors note- This story was first written before 9/11 when crossing the border between the US and Canada was a simpler affair than it is now._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter XIV**

_Near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada_

Robin yawned as she stared out the window of the Mercedes. It was dark outside now. Even the moon and stars were covered by the thick rain clouds. The clock on the console told her it was almost three in the morning. They'd crossed the border into Canada less than half an hour ago and were now making their way to the outskirts of Sault Ste. Marie, back into the darkness of the northern Ontario forest, along the Trans-Canada Highway.

The only visible light came from Bart's green Taurus ahead of them.

As Bart had predicted, both cars were waved through the border. Neither one was asked what purpose they had entering Canada in the early morning hours.

"I thought we were going to stop once we crossed the border," Robin mumbled tiredly.

She watched Alex rub her eyes and felt a twinge of guilt. They'd taken turns driving, alternating after each rest stop, until the very last one, which Robin had slept through, her sleepless night finally catching up to her. And because her aunt didn't have the heart to wake her, it meant Alex had been behind the wheel for more than five hours straight.

"I thought so too," Alex replied.

"Why don't we call O'Malley on his cell and let him know it's time to call it a day?"

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "I assume Bart has a place in mind to spend the night."

"You're exhausted. We both are. At least pull over and let me drive. I've had a chance to nap. You haven't."

"It's fine," Alex told her. "I'm sure he won't go much longer."

Robin didn't trust the old man to do just that and called O'Malley.

As eager as she was to see her mother, Robin didn't want them to wind up in an accident before they got there. Alex was exhausted and the road conditions seemed to worsen with every mile further north they travelled. Highway lighting was non-existent and a thin layer of ice covered the road as night-time temperatures dipped below zero. Added to that, the flat terrain of northern Michigan had morphed into a series of endless, dotting the north shore of lake Superior.

Robin could barely make out O'Malley's voice on the phone. She glanced at Alex, unable to read her expression in the darkness of the car. "He said something about Batchawana Bay…does that ring a bell with you?"

"It's the next settlement, I think."

Robin put down the phone. "Thank God."

Only minutes later they followed the Taurus into a parking lot off the highway. Robin stepped outside as soon as Alex stopped the car; stretching her limbs in the chilly November air.

Shortly afterwards, O'Malley emerged out of the only building she saw, handing Robin a key. "This one's for you two. There's a motel next to the rest stop. We got two rooms." Unlike herself, O'Malley seemed unaffected by the lengthy drive. He looked as refreshed now as he did when they left Pine Valley.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow morning?" Robin asked him.

O'Malley laughed. "Hey…we just got here! Don't worry about setting an alarm. We'll come get you. You both need some sleep after today."

Robin nodded. He was right. She saw Alex leaning against the Mercedes, shivering in the cold. Robin gave her a push towards the motel. "Come on, let's go. They got us rooms for the night."

When they were inside Alex collapsed onto one of the two twin size beds. "I can't believe we drove this far…I can't believe we _drove_, period."

Just then Robin realized she left her backpack in the car. "I forgot my meds in the car," she told Alex, putting her jacket back on.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Robin shook her head, "No, don't worry. The car's within view. Besides, bears hibernate at this time of the year, don't they?"

Back in the parking lot, Robin saw another car pull into the lot and she wondered whether O'Malley or Bart had gone out again. After all, who else could it be in this isolated spot, at this time of day? But then she noticed the Taurus parked next to the Mercedes.

Robin opened the door of the Mercedes, to pull out her backpack, her eyes on the incoming car. Oddly enough, the vehicle did a u-turn and left the lot as soon as it entered it. It was hard to tell in the utter darkness, but she could have sworn it was a Lincoln.

For no reason, a chill went down her spine and she suddenly felt as though she was being watched.

Robin tried to catch a glimpse of the passengers but all she saw were the taillights heading out back onto the highway.

Robin wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the fading lights until they were no longer in view. "How strange..." she mumbled, fighting back an urge to knock on O'Malley's door to tell him about it.

A sudden gust of wind made her shiver even more and Robin raced back to the motel room. "That was the weirdest thing…" she told Alex as soon as she got inside, until she noticed her aunt was already asleep, still wearing her clothes.

"Ah, you poor thing, you must have been exhausted…"

Robin covered Alex with a blanket she found in the closet and carefully removed her hair clip, letting her aunt's hair fall over the bedspread.

'You're risking a lot to come here,' Robin thought watching her sleep. To come here with her, into the Canadian wilderness, where she didn't know what would await them. To lie to Dimitri and leave Max behind.

"Thanks, Alex…" she whispered. Alex had welcomed her into her life, unquestioningly, just as she'd come to search for her mother now. She treated Robin as though she was her own daughter.

_I don't think I've ever told how much everything you've done for me means to me. You, Max and Dimitri… you've become my family._

She gently brushed a strand of her aunt's hair away from her face, and turned off the bedside lamp, before collapsing into her own bed.

As exhausted as she was, sleep again evaded her.

Robin tossed and turned, as one image after another entered her mind.

She saw her mother, looking at her with a puzzled, frightened expression.

_Who are you? _

_Mom, it's me, Robin. _

_I don't know you._

_Mom, please, you have to know. It's me! _

_Get away from me...I said, I don't know you! _

_Mom! Please!_

Robin pressed her eyes shut. Willing the thoughts to stop.

Until, finally, when the sun rose again, they did.

_En route back to Sault Ste. Marie_

"That was a close call," Jan pointed out. "I told you they were stopping for the night,"

"It could have been just another rest stop."

"I could have sworn Robin Scorpio was staring at us from the parking lot."

Faison laughed. "She couldn't have seen a thing in the darkness, through the tinted windows. At least now we know they're taking two cars," he pointed out after seeing Robin open the doors of a white Mercedes. He saw the lights of Sault Ste. Marie coming up in the distance, looking for signs of a roadside motel. "We'll pull into the next motel, and set the alarm for five hours from the time we get in. I'm assuming they'll stop at least that long. Then we meet our back-up in Thunder Bay tomorrow afternoon."

"You're not worried at all about Robin seeing our car?" Jan questioned.

Faison shook his head, finding it difficult to concentrate on anything but Anna. "We just have to make sure it doesn't happen again."

_The next morning_

Once the morning sun filled their motel room, Robin gave up on the idea of sleep.

She got up, showered and made her way across the highway, through a small patch of forest, down to the shore of Lake Superior. Once there, she was surprised to find a vast, endless beach lining the shore. Huge, ice-cold waves lapped the beach, sending a series of wind gusts in her direction.

It was freezing but beautiful.

Robin covered her head with the hood of her jacket. The landscape that surrounded her was harsh and striking. The waters of the lake were a cold, uninviting, dark blue and there was no end to it or to the forests that surrounded its shores. The lake was so enormous it was like standing on the shore of an ocean.

_Do you ever look out into these waters, Mom, and feel as though the wilderness could swallow you up whole?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, coming from behind. Robin turned around to see Alex walking towards her.

"Hey, you...what are you doing here all by yourself?" she asked, sitting down on a rock next to her.

Robin shrugged her shoulders and sat down too. "I couldn't sleep. I wanted to get some fresh air…how did you find me?"

"O'Malley said he saw you walk down this way. He has a way of doing that. Of keeping an eye on you, when you don't think he's watching." Alex put her arms around Robin's shoulders. "It's the second night you haven't slept, sweetie. You're a nervous wreck."

Robin nodded, biting her lip, "I know…I can't help it." How could she explain what she was feeling? How could Alex possibly understand her fears?

A sudden gust of wind from the lake sent Alex's hair flying into her face, making Robin smile.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm scared," she admitted.

"Of what?"

"I'm scared my mother will look at me and say 'Who are you?' and that I won't know what to do…" Her voice faltered. "I try to tell myself that her amnesia is a medical condition, that you and I, as physicians, we can help her overcome it. But all I know is that I keep asking myself 'How could she have forgotten me?' Maybe if I'd done something different as a kid…something that would have, I don't know, Alex…maybe something that would have made me more _memorable_…"

Alex's hold on her tightened. "Oh Robin...you can't possibly blame yourself for this."

"I know it's silly to ask these questions…but I'm so terrified of seeing her again. She loved me so much when I was a kid, and that's how I remember her. What if she's nothing like that now? What if she can't feel _anything_ for me?"

"Robin, we don't know any of that yet…she may not be exactly the same person you knew but I don't believe that she'll never be able to love you the way she did. Knowing you, I don't think that's possible, Robin…"

Robin wiped a tear from her cheek. "You're just trying to make me feel better."

Alex smiled, "Maybe. But it's the truth. Look, I'm not an expert on the type of retrograde amnesia that Anna has. But I do know it's extremely rare and it's even more unusual for her memory to go back in time from the explosion. Usually patients with this condition start to remember things forward in time. They remember their childhood, their youth, right until the events that led up to the memory loss, not the other way around."

Robin gave her a lopsided smile. "My mom never did things the conventional way."

"That's why her condition is hard to figure it out. The length of time it's taken her to get her memory back is unusual too. Retrograde amnesia caused by an injury or a traumatic event rarely lasts for more than a few months. For it to have taken this long means..."

Robin saw her frown and stop herself. "Means what?"

Alex eyed her, letting her know she wasn't about to hide any truths from her. "It means the injuries had to have been severe…"

Robin turned away, unable to stand hearing Alex diagnose her mother like any other patient.

"But..." Alex went on, her voice gentle. "There are a lot of things that give me reason to be optimistic about her condition."

"Like what?"

"Well, you tell me…what are some of the typical symptoms of her condition?"

"Headaches, dizziness, disorientation, depression…"

"What else?" she pressed.

"In some cases, seizures."

"Exactly. Yet Bart hasn't mentioned anything about general disorientation or reduced mental capacity. Those are incredible signs, Robin, especially the lack of seizures."

"Signs of what?"

"Signs that she could completely regain her memory."

"What about the headaches? Bart says they're so bad she loses consciousness. That can't possibly be a positive sign!"

"Well..." Alex looked pensive. "Not necessarily. I have a feeling that the more severe headaches come with the memories. The memories are a trigger. Neural overload, if you will. I have a feeling she's pushing herself to remember, more than her mind is capable of and that her headaches might be a result of that."

Robin looked at her, doubtful, but at the same time impressed with her aunt's ability to put her at ease.

"I know I'm jumping to conclusions here, Robin. I can't make a diagnosis before seeing her and running extensive tests, and the thought of any residual scarring possibly causing swelling to the brain _does_ frighten me, but at first glance, that's what her symptoms are suggesting to me. It's a... gut instinct, if you will."

"I trust your instincts."

Alex got up and rubbed her hands in the ice-cold wind. "Good. You should. And trust your own as well. Come on, let's go back to the motel and have some breakfast, before we freeze to death."

Robin stared into the endless waters in front of her. Wave after angry wave crashed onto the shore. "I'm not hungry."

Alex grabbed her hand and pulled her up anyway. "I know. But you have to eat something. I don't want two patients to worry about when we get to Anna." She paused, watching Robin. "Why don't you ride with Bart until the first rest stop?" she suggested. "You haven't spoken two words to him since we left Pine Valley. I'm sure there must be a million questions you want to ask him."

Robin said nothing. It was easier to keep staring straight ahead, into the distance.

"Maybe he'll even let you listen to that crazy radio station you wanted to subject me to."

"I'm afraid if I ask him the things I want to ask, he'll confirm my fears. That my mom is nothing like the person I once knew."

Alex gave her a push towards the path that led back to the highway and the motel, "You don't know that. Besides, at least she has a chance of remembering you. How do you think she'll react when she sees me? She had no idea I existed…maybe we should have taken the world's greatest cardiologist along for when she has the heart attack she'll undoubtedly have when she sees me."

The words made Robin laugh in spite of herself. So did the thought of taking along David Hayward. "If he thinks I'm a handful…wait until he meets Mom."

She felt suddenly, inexplicably lighter; as though Alex had taken a weight off her shoulders. Her lips twisted into a smirk, as they made their way back towards the highway motel together. "As for you, just act like you knew her all along. Mom won't know the difference."

Alex laughed out loud. "Evil." Then she looked at Robin with a smirk of her own. "But I like it."

_Near Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario_

Anna paused among the snow-covered trees, leaning against a particularly large trunk to adjust the backpack she carried. She took off the hood of her jacket and wiped the perspiration from her forehead. She'd been walking steadily for over an hour and was pleased to discover that the trek left her neither tired nor weak. 'All that sleeping at Joseph's place must have done some good,' she thought, pleased. 'Either that or there's something potent in his herbal teas...'

She could vaguely hear the flow of water in the distance. 'Not much further now,' she thought. Once she reached the river, she would do the final leg of the trip back to the cabin in the canoe that Bart had left there. Had she wanted to, she could have done the entire trip by canoe, but she purposely took the long way, through the forest, to test her endurance.

'So far, so good,' she decided, adjusting the rifle that rested against her side. She was about to continue when she suddenly heard another sound from a distance, a sound she recognized all too well.

"Wappie?" she called out, turning back. She glanced into the forest to see the grey husky coming into view. The dog panted from exertion, his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging when he spotted her.

Anna shook her head in disbelief. "You're kidding! You didn't just follow me all the way here?"

The dog circled around her, wondering why she wasn't acknowledging his presence with her touch.

She shook her head angrily, not making any efforts to welcome him. "Ah…Wappie do you have any ideas how much of a setback you've just caused me? Don't you want me to find my little girl?" Anna could easily imagine what must have happened. She had left the dog with Joseph this morning, bidding him a reluctant good-bye. Joseph, in turn, must have left the dog with Marie or one of the other children, and of course, the dog decided he was with the wrong owner and took off for the woods to find her.

"Now, I'll have to go take you along to Sioux Lookout and leave you there for Bart to pick up. I can't leave you at the cabin alone…" she gave him a stern, irritated look which faded quickly when he lowered his head, letting her know she'd hurt his feelings.

She sunk to her knees, unable to stay angry with him, grinning as he started to lick her face. "Yeah…I know, you didn't mean to mess up my plans." She laughed when he jumped on her thighs making her lose her balance and fall over backwards in the snow. "You are such a male…Wappie. Pushy and demanding…happy only when you're the centre of my world." The thought made her think of Robert. She could see him so clearly now. But, afraid of another memory of Robin, she pushed the image from her mind.

Anna stood back up and made her way down towards the river, the husky walking happily alongside her. At least in his world, everything was right again.

_Thunder Bay, Northern Ontario_,

Cesar Faison stepped out of his black Lincoln and straightened his jacket. He gave Jan a nod as he watched his colleague drive away to park it, while he made his way into the lobby of the Ramada hotel in front of him.

He'd arranged to meet his two agents here, where they'd discuss their plan of attack over a brief lunch at the largest hotel in the town. He spotted the two DVX agents immediately. They were waiting for him in the plush seats of the modest reception area. The younger of the two agents, a well-dressed black woman in her thirties, immediately got up and held out her hand to him. "Sir, it is an honour to have the chance to work with you."

Faison nodded, examining her with a long, thorough glance. "I'm glad you could be here on such short notice, Agent Moyo." Leila Moyo had been with the DVX just over five years. She was currently working a corporate espionage assignment for him, in the tar sands of Alberta, an assignment he'd pulled her from so she could meet him here.

As was the case for most of his agents, she had advanced belts in several forms of martial arts and no qualms about using her skills for attack instead of defence. Her colleague, a tall slender man with a goatee and vaguely pained expression held out his hand as well. "As Agent Moyo says, it is a privilege, sir." He had a thick French accent.

Faison turned his gaze away from the woman and fixed it on the man next to her.

Agent Gilles Michaud was a relatively new recruit, even though he was considerably older than his colleague. A former officer with Interpol, Michaud was fired for unethical conduct before joining the DVX. Although Faison valued Michaud's skills and contacts, he knew he couldn't trust him. He also knew that if he gave him too much freedom, Michaud wouldn't hesitate to stab him in the back with it.

Faison gestured towards the restaurant in the lobby. "Shall we? We have little time to waste in preparing our plan of action. My assistant Jan Hallstrom will be joining us shortly."

_North of Sioux Lookout, Ontario _

_Later_

Daylight was starting to fade and Alex turned on the lights of her car.

She looked over at Robin, sitting next to her, noticing that the rough driving on the loose surface road was taking its toll on her. The car shook as it advanced further and further north and Alex had to grip the steering wheel harder.

A combination of potholes and snow mixed with gravel made driving a challenge. Bart had warned them that, after a brief rest stop in Sioux Lookout, the next three hours would involve leaving the paved highway and turning onto a logging road, that few public vehicles drove on.

"There's a logging camp three hours north of Sioux Lookout. From there we'll hop onto a floatplane to Bear Lake, where Anna's staying right now."

The distances where unfathomable and Alex was awed at the lack of anything but endless forest on either side of the road. There was nothing where they were going. Not so much as a gas station.

"She's so incredibly far away from civilization," she mumbled to Robin, trying to get her mind off the nausea her niece was so obviously fighting. The combination of the climate and time change, in addition to her nervousness and fatigue, had to be messing with her protocol.

Her glance in Robin's direction had made her miss a pothole and the car lurched as she drove right into it.

"Sorry," Alex cringed.

"Slow down a bit, please." Robin told her, covering her mouth with her hand.

Even though she was already well behind Bart's Taurus, Alex nodded. "Sure."

But even that was pointless.

"Alex," Robin whispered. "I'm going to be sick."

Alex pressed down on the brakes, bringing the car to a swerving halt. It gave Robin just enough time to open the doors and jump outside to throw up.

For a moment Alex froze, as the scene suddenly took her back in time. To Bianca doing the same as they fled from Brynn Wydd the year before.

_Then she took my gun and shot me…killing my baby._

Alex saw Robin trembling in the cold and forced her mind back to the present. She ran out of the car to her side. Alex covered Robin with her jacket and pressed a hand against her forehead, "Sweetie, are you going to be okay?"

Robin nodded, still shivering. "It's just… the road here is so bad. The protocol and the constant motion…"

"I know...stay outside for a bit. Take some deep breaths." Robin did just that and Alex waited several minutes before prompting her back into the car.

Robin shook her head. "Not yet…if you start driving, I think I'll throw up again."

"Alright, we'll wait a bit longer." Alex checked her watch. "You took your last meds only about fifteen minutes ago. You'll have to take those again."

Robin eyed her, "I didn't think you saw me taking them."

"I used to be a spy, you know."

The attempt at humour didn't elicit as much as a smile from Robin. Instead she looked as though something just dawned on her. "You notice a lot more than I think, do't you? It was you who changed my schedule wasn't it?"

Alex wasn't sure what she was talking about. "What?"

"At the hospital. The night shift thing…it wasn't David. It was you, wasn't it?"

"The _schedule_?" Alex wondered why in the world that realization would dawn on Robin at this very moment, after throwing up onto a deserted, snow-covered logging road in northern Ontario. "Yes...yes, it was me. I was going to tell you, I didn't want you to blame David for something he didn't do...but after everything that happened I completely forgot."

Robin's teeth chattered in the wind, leading Alex to give her a not-so-gentle push back into the car.

"Come one, sweetheart. You can't stay out here, like this." She opened a bag of oatmeal cookies after they were both back inside. "Eat something to settle your stomach." She poured her some water into a Styrofoam cup and handed it to Robin.

"I guess right now is not the best time to plead my case to not want to be treated like a kid," Robin smiled weakly.

Alex squeezed her shoulder. "I know you're not a child. You're a strong, capable adult...but this virus in your body…it means there are certain things you can't do. You can't push yourself as hard as you'd like to, that's all. You don't seem to get that through your thick skull sometimes."

Robin chuckled. "You're one to talk."

Alex watched her finish the cookie. "Better?"

"Yeah," Robin nodded. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

Alex leaned back in her own seat and stretched. "I'll always worry about you, but it's because I love you, Robin, not because I think you're a child. I'm sorry I went behind your back with your schedule changes but I'm not sorry I did it."

"I see." Robin acknowledged. She looked too tired to argue. "You know, if she were in your position, Mom would've done the same thing." She gave her a wry smile. "Except she probably would've done it sooner and been a lot less apologetic about it."

"You're not angry then?"

Robin raised her eyebrows. "Sure, I am…but it's like you're asking me whether I'm upset that you care about me." She sighed, "Oh, I don't know, Alex...what does it matter now?" She cringed as another realization hit her. "What I do hate is that now I owe David Hayward an apology."

Alex's smirked. "Maybe you can buy him some chocolates…"

"Funny."

Alex turned on the engine and rubbed her hands together. The temperature inside the car had plummeted. "Are you feeling better? Can we can keep driving? It shouldn't be much farther to the logging camp."

"Do we have a choice?"

"Sure..." Alex shrugged her shoulders. "We always have a choice." She handed her the cell phone. "Here, call O'Malley and let him know we fell behind. Or call Dimitri and Max. Maybe that'll take your mind off your mom and your nausea."

"I'll tell O'Malley we fell behind because your crazy driving made me puke."

"Look who's funny now." Alex saw that one of the headlights wasn't working, forcing her to step outside and hit it with her fist. She noticed too that her car was no longer white. It was caked in mud and dirt.

Robin gave her a concerned look when she got back inside.

"What's wrong?"

"The cell phone…I can't get a signal. Reception's dead here."

Alex wasn't entirely surprised. "We _are_ in the middle of nowhere."

"But O'Malley can't be much more than ten or fifteen miles ahead of us." Robin frowned. "You know what that means, don't you? If Dimitri doesn't hear from you in a couple of days, he'll call uncle Mac in Port Charles. Bart will go ballistic if that happens."

"I'm sure we'll get a chance to make a phone call sometime in the next twenty-four hours. There must be a phone where Anna's staying, don't you think?"

Robin watched her manoeuvring the car from the road's edge. "I wouldn't bet on it."

_Half a mile further south_

"_Stop_!" Faison suddenly shouted to the Frenchman, Gilles Michaud, who was driving the Lincoln now.

"Why?" he asked perplexed.

"Look," Faison pointed to the road's horizon. "It's Alexandra's car. It's stopped on the roadside." He frowned as Michaud brought their sedan to a sudden halt. "How can that be? The signal is almost 20 miles ahead of us. How could she suddenly be that far behind the other car?"

Jan shrugged his shoulders, "That's odd. Could her car have broken down?"

"Wouldn't the others have turned back to help them out then?" On the monitor, the tracking device indicated that Bart's vehicle was moving steadily as he spoke.

"Look, they're moving again…" Leila Moyo pointed out, seeing the taillights of the white Mercedes fade into the distance ahead.

Faison exhaled. "That was dangerously close," he scolded Michaud. "I don't want to see such carelessness again. Aside from the two logging trucks that passed us heading south, there are absolutely no cars on this road. I expect you to pay closer attention should a vehicle come into view."

"Yes, sir."

"We're going to wait here for a few minutes," Faison instructed him.

"Yes, sir." The Frenchman's voice was monotone and it already annoyed Faison.

He stared out into the forest that encroached them on both sides of the road, anxious and eager to reach the woman he loved, yet unwilling to compromise the success of his mission by speeding it along too quickly. If Alexandra and Robin were to spot him now, it would set off an immediate alarm.

'Soon Anna,' he thought, ignoring the others in the car. 'You're going to be in my arms again. So very soon, my love, and then nothing will ever tear us apart again. _Nothing_.'


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter XV**

_Logging camp, north of Sioux Lookout, Northern Ontario_

After bringing her car to a halt, Alex could see Bart and O'Malley standing outside, speaking to a workman at the lumber camp. Their Taurus was already parked next to them.

Bart walked towards her window before she had a chance to get out. Alex rolled it down. "What took you so long?" he asked, with furrowed brows. "Did you pull over somewhere?"

It was snowing now. Huge, white flakes covered the top of his hooded jacket.

"Robin wasn't feeling well. We had to make a stop."

Bart nodded. "I see...the float plane is waiting for us. The weather's getting worse. If we wait much longer we might not be able to fly into Bear Lake anymore."

"Then what?"

"We'd have to take a motorboat. It's long trip, especially in bad weather. We're lucky enough as it is, that the lakes and rivers haven't frozen yet."

Alex looked at Robin. "Are you okay to fly?"

Robin felt her heart beat faster, "You're really asking me if I'm ready to see my mom."

Alex took one of Robin's hands in hers. "No…I'm asking you if _you're_ okay. If you're up to taking off in a tiny plane and flying into the middle of nowhere."

"Bart said we have to leave now before the weather gets worse…"

"I don't care what Bart said. This isn't just about Anna. It's about you too. We're not going to help your mother at your expense."

Robin didn't meet her eyes. Instead she opened the door of the car, allowing a gust of ice-cold air to enter it. "I'm fine."

Bart grew impatient. "We have to go now. Not only is the weather getting worse, it'll be too dark soon." He observed Robin getting out of the car. "Make sure you're dressed for the weather. And bring your medical supplies," he told Alex.

Alex followed Robin out of the car, and saw O'Malley who'd come to help her unpack the supplies from the trunk of the car and load them onto the plane. Their floatplane sat by a pier atop the choppy waves of the lake. O'Malley seemed immune to the cold and gave her a grin, "Thank god we're at the end of the road, Dr. Marick. There's only so much country music a guy can take…"

Alex laughed, her teeth chattering in the cold. "To think, you struck me as a country music kind of guy…" In spite of her initial resistance, she was glad Dimitri insisted O'Malley come along. He made her feel safe, in a way that went beyond his skills as a bodyguard.

He effortlessly hoisted their supplies onto the plane, which was now bobbing up and down in the waves.

Alex saw Bart speaking to the pilot and motioning them to hurry up.

Once inside the plane, O'Malley was the last one to join them, slamming its flimsy door shut. The pilot was an old, wiry man who wore a thick wool cap that came down to his eyes. "We'll get there in less than twenty minutes," was all he said.

He manoeuvred the plane away from the shore and turned the two propellers to full throttle. The plane made a noisy crawl to the middle of the lake, before an even noisier take-off.

Robin closed her eyes during the take-off. She exhaled only once she decided the odds were reasonably good that they were going to stay airborne. "I've never taken off from water before," she whispered to Alex, who sat next to her.

Alex too was paler than she had been before getting on the plane. "Neither have I…and I'm not too anxious to repeat it anytime soon. How are you holding up?" She was pressed against her niece in the plane's tiny passenger compartment and saw that Robin's hands were shaking. She took them into her own, seeing an endless maze of lakes and rivers and forest below, as the plane tilted sideways. "It's going to be okay, sweetie. She'll take one look at you and everything will be alright."

"I hope so, Alex. You have no idea how much."

_Logging road, north of Sioux Lookout_

"They haven't moved in an hour," Michaud pointed out. "Maybe they stopped for the night."

Faison shook his head, "I don't think so. According to the map, there's nothing in the area up ahead. No rest stop. Nothing. And it's too early for them to have stopped for the night."

"Maybe I was right," Jan added. "When I suggested that Alexandra's car broke down. Maybe they're stuck."

Faison frowned at their simplistic reasoning. "Even if her car had broken down, the two of them could have easily gotten into Bart's vehicle. Did no one else notice the trucks, full of lumber, that passed us by on the way north? There has to be a logging operation somewhere up ahead. A commercial operation wouldn't be indicated on the map. I think that's where they are right now."

"Doing what?" Michaud asked, putting on his leather gloves, to fight the dropping temperatures.

"I don't know," Faison answered. "But I think we're very close now. We'll wait another half an hour then we will slowly approach Bart's car."

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario_

"Here we are," the pilot announced, after a landing that was so choppy that it made even O'Malley cringe. "Don't take long to unpack," he told them. "I have to leave while I still have daylight."

Robin jumped out of the plane and onto the riverbank, her knees weak. She glanced at the cluster of houses that lined the river in a jumbled pattern, half expecting her mother to come running out of one of them. Instead, she saw a small group of warmly dressed native children, running towards the plane to see who was inside. "Who are _you_?" one of them called out to her.

"Robin," she mumbled back, not sure what else to say. Her stomach felt queasy again and for a moment she thought she might throw up again. She felt O'Malley's hand on her shoulder. "Bart said it's the third house down…"

Robin eyed him apprehensively, "No…I'm not ready…not yet," she blurted out. 'I haven't even thought of what I'm going to say to her,' she realized.

"Robin… he means the Chief's house," O'Malley told her. "Bart wants us to wait there while he goes to see your mom. To give her some kind of a head's up, I guess. He said it would be too much of a shock for her if we all showed up at the house wtih no warning."

Robin nodded, "Yeah…I bet." Part of her didn't want to listen to reason, wanting to run to the house where her mother was staying right then and there, unable to wait another moment before seeing her. Another part of her was frozen solid, incapable of picturing her mother alive, much less standing next to her.

"Come on. Let's go, before we freeze to death," O'Malley gave her a gentle push.

In the meantime, Bart made his own way towards Joseph's house, ignoring Alex, Robin and O'Malley. He knocked on the wooden door and saw Joseph's five-year-old nephew, Ben, answer. Bart offered him a forced smile, "Is your uncle home?"

He didn't have to wait for an answer as Joseph came into view behind the boy. "I thought that it might be you, when I saw the plane," he told Bart.

Bart nodded. "I didn't come alone. I need to see Anna."

"She's not here."

Bart stared at the native man, uncomprehending, "What do you mean she's not here?"

"She left for the cabin this morning."

"She _what_?!" Bart's face was livid. "Didn't I tell you never to leave her out of your sight? How could you let her go there by herself?"

"It wasn't up to me to decide…you know how she is when she makes up her mind about something."

"I swear to God if anything happens to her, I'll personally hold you responsible!" Bart yelled angrily. "Why the hell would she decide to go back to the cabin anyway? I thought she loved it here with you…was it because of that woman, your sister's friend, Lucy?"

"We did a search on the Internet the day after you left," Joseph explained. "Anna found out about her daughter, Robin."

"_What_?" Bart couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You did _what_?"

"Sit down, Bart," Joseph told him. "Let me explain."

Bart slumped into a chair in the kitchen, running a hand through his hair, "Oh God…this wasn't supposed to happen like this. Not like this…"

"Why did you never tell her?"

"You wouldn't understand the choices I had to make…"

"I know she used to be a spy. That the agency she worked for ordered to have her killed. Anna's been my friend for over ten years, don't you think she talks to me?"

"Then you can see that I was only trying to keep both her and Robin alive!"

"Anna had a right to know, no matter what the risks were! It was her choice to make, not yours."

Bart glared at Joseph, "You and I both know exactly what choice she would have made. She doesn't think about her own safety. If she did she wouldn't have taken off for the cabin on her own. She's reckless and hot-headed. She always has been."

"No, you're wrong. She has a powerful spirit. She's not a weak creature that has to be protected. Maybe it's time you started to respect the strength the Creator gave her."

"Don't give me that spiritual bull, Joseph. You have no idea what she's been through these last few months."

Joseph frowned. "You should respect your mothers' beliefs too. "

"I don't need any more guilt trips. It's bad enough to know I've lost my best friend."

"Give Anna some credit, why don't you?" Joseph snorted. "She's not going to throw away your friendship because you lied to her. Sure, she's angry, very angry, but she'll forgive you. Anna has a big heart."

Bart shook his head, wanting to believe him, but knowing better. "Trust me. The Anna I know is _not_ going to forgive me."

"I think you're wrong."

Bart sighed pushing himself from Joseph's chair. "I have to go…"

"Why? Stay here tonight. Tomorrow you can head off to the cabin."

"I told you I didn't come alone. I brought Anna's daughter and sister with me."

"_What_?" This time it was Joseph who was shocked. "Anna's _daughter_ is in Bear Lake? Robin Scorpio? That's amazing! Where is she? Why didn't you bring her here?" Joseph's eyes lit up.

"I thought Anna was here with you. I didn't want to show up at your doorstep with Robin and her aunt in tow. I told them to stay at your brother's place for now. I wanted to prepare Anna."

"Her daughter and a _sister_? Anna never mentioned a sister…is she someone Anna couldn't remember?"

Bart managed a nervous laugh. "No…trust me. The sister came out of left field for all of us. Anna too."

"Anna didn't know about her?"

"No…and believe me, I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I first saw her."

"Why?"

"She's her identical twin."

"What?" Joseph looked at him in disbelief. Then he grinned. "That's crazy...but it's great. What the hell are you waiting for? Bring them here, tell them they're going to be our guests tonight."

"Are _you_ kidding? You barely have enough room here to have put up Anna, never mind another three people. Your brother's place is much bigger."

"I'll tell Lucy to stay with my brother tonight. But you have to bring Anna's relatives here. You can't have them stay anywhere else. I'll tell Cecilia to make something special for dinner tonight. There's a fresh catch of lake trout in the fridge…" He laughed. "This is amazing, Bart. That you found Anna's daughter. If Anna had known, she would never have left Bear Lake to go back to the cabin."

"I went to look for Robin because I knew she's a doctor! I needed to find someone who could help me help Anna. Because her headaches have gotten so bad...it wasn't a social call, Joseph. I was scared for her. Thank god she was fine while I was gone…"

Joseph frowned. "She was…except for once."

Bart's brows narrowed. "What do you mean? I asked you on the phone whether she was fine and you said yes!"

"When she saw a picture of Robin on the computer, Anna started remembering stuff. I think she remembered too much, that she couldn't handle it all. She passed out."

"Jesus…and now you let her go to the cabin? _Alone_?" Bart couldn't believe what Joseph was telling him.

"I'm her friend not her keeper. If she tells me she's leaving…that's her decision. I respect that."

Bart shook his head angrily, wondering if he'd ever really understand the ways of his mother's people. "I hope to God she's alright, especially now, that Robin's here." It was too late to make their way to the cabin tonight but Bart swore to himself he would leave first thing tomorrow morning, as soon as he spotted a trace of daylight.

"She's going to be fine," Joseph assured him. "Have some faith in us. If I thought she was too sick, I wouldn't have let her go by herself." He offered Bart a cigarette and lit one for himself. He grinned at the old man. "Anna's going to be so happy to see her daughter. And she's a doctor! I'll be damned. She's going to be so proud." His sister entered the kitchen while the grin was still etched on his face. "Guess what? We're going to have company tonight."

Bart stood up, shaking his head. There was no choice but to get Robin and Alex now. No matter how early they had to leave tomorrow morning, he knew Joseph wouldn't take no for an answer.

_Bart's cabin_

Anna watched the logs burn in the fireplace, taking off her thick wool sweater as the cabin finally heated up.

The husky sat in the corner, half asleep, opening his eyes lazily when she sat down on the sofa with a cup of tea in her hands. Normally she would have left him outside, where he stayed in a wooden doghouse for most of the year, unless there were blizzard conditions. However, tonight, she took him inside, for selfish reasons more than anything.

She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts.

'Don't think of Robin,' she reminded herself. 'Instead, think of what you have to do to find her.' She wanted to remember more, especially now that her memories were so clear. Yet, she was too afraid of what the memories might do to her, physically, to risk it. 'The last thing I need is to pass out again,' she thought, with a frown.

She got up to pull out a map of the Ontario-Minnesota border. 'I can take the canoe to the lumber camp and from there I'll hitch a ride to Sioux Lookout. Once I'm there I can rent a car, drive to Kenora and cross the border there.' The day before she left Bear Lake, Joseph had given her Lucy's driver's licence.

"She's going to _kill_ me when she finds out," Anna had told him.

"She never goes anywhere anyway. She doesn't need it."

His reasoning had made her laugh, "She's _still _going to kill me." Lucy didn't like her to start, it wasn't like she needed an excuse. Anna had looked at the photograph and given him a skeptical look. "Plus, we look nothing alike."

Joseph had given her a sly smile in return. "_That _can be fixed." Using a Swiss army knife, he'd deftly opened the sealed plastic and inserted Anna's photograph in place of Lucy's, then resealed it, his large hands as nimble as that of a surgeon. "Here you go," he had told her, handing it back to her, proud of his handiwork.

Anna's grin had widened. "I won't ask where you learned to do that."

"I won't tell you then."

Now Anna pulled the small plastic card out of her pocket. _Lucille Flying Crow. '_I'll have to remember that name.' In addition to a brand new driver's license, Joseph had also given her one of his two credit cards.

"I'll mail whatever I've spent back to you, I promise."

"Don't insult me like that," he had chided her. "Mail me back the card if you want. Or cut it up when you don't need it anymore. Just find your daughter and stay safe." Anna knew that he'd give her the shirt off his back if she so much as asked.

Anna looked over at the sleeping husky. She originally intended to bring the dog back to Bear Lake but then changed her mind. 'It'll make me lose too much time,' she reconsidered. She decided instead to drop off the animal in Sioux Lookout and leave Bart a note to pick him up from there.

"I'm going to miss you, my friend, and you too, Joseph, more than you could imagine," she mumbled. "But it doesn't matter, does it? Robin is the only thing that matters." Tomorrow, with the first sign of daylight, she'd leave the cabin and begin the search for Robin.

"And I won't stop until I find you, my baby. I promise."

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario_

Joseph's mouth dropped wide open when he saw Alex. "Wow…you do look exactly like Anna."

Alex blushed. "So I hear."

In spite of their striking resemblance, Joseph spotted subtle differences too. Differences that would have enabled him to tell the two sisters apart in an instant. Alexandra's long hair was neat and it fell evenly off her shoulders, unlike that of his friend. Anna never seemed able to control the loose strands of hair that fell through the moose-hide hair clip his mother had made for her. Alex's eyes were as warm and clever as her sister's, but they were missing the fire he knew so well. She also had a much stronger English accent than Anna did.

Joseph held out his hand for her, "Joseph Thunderclap. It's wonderful to meet you."

"Alexandra Marick…but my friends call me Alex."

"You must be so excited to meet your sister. I know for sure Anna is going…" he couldn't finish his sentence when he saw a young woman enter the hallway. She was small and had a beautiful, delicate face with a pair of very familiar eyes. "You must be Robin Scorpio. Anna's daughter." Joseph told her, a delighted smile on his face.

A tall, white man came in behind Robin. He looked confident. Strong.

'The kind of guy you want on your side in a fight,' was Joseph's first thought.

Robin approached him, shaking his hand to follow suit after Alex. "I'm Robin, yes."

Joseph knew Anna would be beside herself to finally see her daughter. "If only your mom didn't decide to go to the cabin this afternoon. If she only knew…and the thing is, she left to look for _you_!"

Robin looked surprised. "What do you mean? I thought she didn't remember me?"

"Oh she does! She's been remembering you for a while now. Images, flashes, of a little girl that looked familiar. Until we did a search on the Net a couple of days ago and we saw this article about a memorial service for your mom and dad. When she saw your picture on the computer, everything came back to her all at once. Since then you're the only thing she's talked about."

Robin sat down, looking genuinely shocked now. "She does remember me ..."

"Oh yeah, definitely."

"She really remembered me?"

Alex put an arm on Robin's shoulders with a smile. "I told you she would."

Marie came running into the kitchen at the sound of all the voices.

"Are you Anna's daughter?" the girl asked her.

"I am, yes."

"Are you a good hunter too?"

Robin laughed at the question. "No…I don't even know how to really use a gun."

"Anna's teaching me," Marie told her. "Maybe she'll teach you too."

Robin nodded, as if unsure of what to say. "Yeah…maybe… I haven't seen my mom in a long, long time."

"Why?"

Joseph held out his arms to his niece, "I think you're asking too many questions, Marie. When someone's a guest we should let them speak, not us. That's our tradition."

Bart interrupted him, "I know you want to stay up and chat all night. But we have to leave very early tomorrow. We have to catch Anna before she leaves the cabin and takes off for God's knows where. If she made it to the cabin to begin with..."

Joseph glared at him, hating the worried look on Robin's face that Bart's careless words had elicited. "Of course she made it to the cabin."

"We're tired..." Bart mumbled, ignoring his glare.

Alex nodded, her hand still on Robin's shoulder, squeezing it. "He's right. It's been a long day and I have feeling tomorrow will be no different."

"You'll stay with us tonight then," Joseph insisted.

"It's very kind of you to have us," Robin told Joseph.

Joseph smiled. "You're Anna's daughter. Of course you'll stay with us." He made his way into the hallway. "I'll ask my sister to help me make up the extra beds for you."

He spotted his sister, Cecilia, in the hallway. He also caught the tail end of an argument she was having with Lucy.

"I can't believe he's making me leave so these people can stay here!"

"Don't be angry, it's just for one night. Joseph isn't doing this to upset you…"

"He's doing this to score points with his white princess because he thinks…"

"Don't start with me again," Joseph cut in, not letting her finish. "These people are going to be our guests tonight. _You_ can come back here tomorrow."

"I can't believe you're kicking me out for these strangers." She was furious.

"They're not strangers. This is Anna's daughter and sister."

"_Anna_ is a stranger," she corrected him. "A white person, an _outsider_."

Joseph was not in the mood for this argument. It was one he'd heard before and tonight he didn't care for it. "Just go," he said, brushing her off. "You can come back tomorrow."

Lucy grabbed a backpack and gave him one final angry glare, before heading out the door sending a whiff of cold air rushing into the corridor as she slammed it behind her. Joseph turned around to see Alex standing in the hallway, behind him. He blushed; embarrassed at the thought that she might have overheard them.

"I'm sorry if us being here is causing problems for you…" she started.

"No. No, don't think that, please," Joseph countered. "It's Lucy…she's had a hard time lately. She's upset about a lot of things. It's not you. You're always welcome here. You and Robin."

"I was wondering if you have a phone I could use, to call my husband and son. My cell doesn't seem to work here."

Joseph nodded, "Yeah, sure. It's in the living room. I think it's quiet there now. The younger kids are in bed."

"Thank you."

_In the Living Room_

Alex made her way to the empty living room and picked up the phone to call Dimitri, grateful for a moment of solitude to focus only on him.

It surprised her just how much she missed him and Max, after barely two days apart. 'What happened to being so damn independent?' she wondered, after she hung up the phone. Granted the seven years she spent raising Max alone hadn't exactly been by choice. Still it took her breath away sometimes, how much she longed for Dimitri presence when he wasn't near. His voice, his touch...

"Doctor Marick…" Shawn O'Malley entered the room, jarring her from her thoughts. "Bart asked me to tell you he's heading over to the Chief's house…"

"Alright..." Alex nodded, about to get up when suddenly the entire room spun around her so fast, she was certain she was about to hit the ground.

O'Malley's arms were around her with lightning speed and he gently made her to sit back down.

"Easy..." O'Malley sat down next to her, looking at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I think so." Truthfully, she felt unbelievably dizzy and she bit her lips to ward off the feeling, willing the room to stop spinning.

"Let me get you a glass of water..." O'Malley told her.

Alex shook her head, "No, it's fine…I'm just...tired." She managed a lop-sided smile. "Stupid anemia."

"Put your head down," he told her, giving her one of his easy, reassuring smiles.

"Okay, doc." She hated the look of concern on his face, knowing it would only make him keep an even closer eye on her now.

"Why don't you stay here tomorrow? Robin, Bart and I can make our own way to Anna's cabin."

Alex raised her head back up, "Oh no..I want to be there when Robin sees her mom. We have no idea how Anna's going to react. It's been so long and Robin's so nervous…that, and I'm dying to see my sister."

"If you're not feeling well tomorrow, you're not coming with us."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Hey, this isn't your decision…"

"As long as you're in my protection, it _is_ my decision," he countered, softly but firmly.

"Look, I have anemia, it makes me light-headed. There's no reason for you to worry…I should know."

"Deciding when to worry and when not to…that's also my call. I mean no disrespect, Dr. Marick, but your husband has entrusted me with your life. It's not something I take lightly."

Alex stared into his warm, green eyes. She knew that if someone were to aim a gun at her this instant he wouldn't think twice before jumping in front of it, to take the bullet for her. It wasn't just a job, it was who he was, and she'd sworn to herself to never take _that_ for granted. Not after he'd risked his life and career to help them try and get Max from Charlotte's clutches. She nodded, "Alright, I'll do as you ask…_if_ I feel this way tomorrow. But, please, just don't mention anything to Robin. She has enough on her plate as it is."

He returned her smile with one of his own, giving her a mock salute. "You're the boss."

She smirked. "Only when it suits you."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter XVI**

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario, _

_The next morning_

The boat trip to the cabin was slow, choppy and, above all, freezing cold.

Shawn stood at the front with Bart, who manned the wheel, while Alex and Robin sat in the open rear, near the motor. Bart told them he'd normally have taken the canoe but Joseph's brother had given them his motorboat in order to speed up their trip. "We're lucky," Bart pointed out. "In a week or two we would've had to make this trip on foot. The lakes and rivers are going to freeze any day now."

"At least if we were walking we'd be moving," Robin mumbled to Alex. "I've lost all feeling in my legs."

"It's so cold out here," Alex agreed, seeing her breath in the air when she spoke. "I can't believe Anna spent so many winters here." It was only early November and already the temperatures were as low as the coldest January days in Pine Valley. Were it not for the freezing cold, it would have been an incredible journey. Endless, snow-covered forests surrounded them, along the bluest, most pristine water she'd ever seen. It was a beautiful landscape, wild and isloated, and seemingly untainted by human touch.

"There it is," Bart told them, pointing to a tiny, log cabin in the distance. "There's smoke coming from the chimney," he added, the relief in his voice obvious. "It means Anna made it there. It should take us about ten minutes to the shore."

Shawn O'Malley turned around and looked at Alex, giving her a nod. She knew he wanted her to stay back in the village with Joseph but she managed to convince him she wasn't about to keel over and die.

She observed Robin anxiously biting her lips, as the shore came closer.

"This is it," she told her niece. "Are you ready?"

Robin nodded, shivering. "Yeah…I'm ready."

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario_

After the float plane pilot told him where he'd taken his previous passengers, Faison demanded to be taken there as well.

The man was a grouchy old bush pilot and getting the information from him had been like pulling teeth, until Leila Moyo had flashed him their fake Revenue Canada IDs and told him that not releasing the information could result in him being charged with obstruction of justice. Faison had smiled at her quick thinking.

"She doesn't live in Bear Lake," Faison informed his agents. "But the cabin can't be far away. I'm assuming the others already made their way there to see Anna. Someone in the village will tell us exactly where it is."

He knew he was taking a risk by flying directly into Bear Lake. Alex, Bart and Robin could still be there and spot him. But there simply was no other way. The village was not accessible by road and Faison feared if he waited too long they could have reached Anna and flown her out of the region by then. To England for medical treatment, as Alex had suggested in her office. The fact that he could no longer follow them using a tracking device, made him both anxious and impatient.

They were so close now. He wouldn't be able to stand it if they were to lose them now. "Wait here," he told the others.

"What do you mean, 'wait here'?" Michaud, the Frenchman, asked him incredulously. "It's absolutely freezing here! There must be somewhere inside where we can wait."

Faison glared at him, "Go find a diner then. If there isn't one, you'll wait outside." He thought he saw a smile on Moyo's lips, a gesture he returned with another icy stare. Although he already liked her better than Michaud, she didn't have to know it.

Faison turned his back on them and walked towards the nearest house. "I'll be back," he mumbled.

A heavy-set Native man, with long, black hair saw him walking down the dirt road.

"Can I help you?" the man asked him.

A sudden gust of wind blew the hood off Faison's jacket, "Yes…you can. My name is Gerard Caisson. I'm with Revenue Canada. I'm looking for someone…"

The Native man held out his hand, "Joseph Thunderclap. Don't they have phones in Ottawa?"

Faison bit his tongue. Everyone was sarcastic these days. Even here in the middle of bloody nowhere. "I'm here to do an audit on someone."

Joseph Thunderclap gave him an amused smirk, "Most people here are status Indians. We don't pay property tax."

"I'm looking for a woman by the name of Anna Devane. She's not Native. Or Canadian."

The Native man raised his eyebrows in recognition of the name.

The man knew Anna, Faison was certain of it.

"Sorry…never heard of anyone by that name."

"I don't expect her to live here, but nearby, in a forest cabin," Faison pressed.

"Not possible. If she did, trust me, I'd know about it. There are less than two hundred people in Bear Lake. No one lives nearby that we don't know about."

"I'd like to see the Chief," Faison insisted, annoyed that this coarse, overweight Indian was successfully stalling him.

Joseph pointed to a large log house, "Go ahead. He's my brother. I'll let him know you're coming. So he can tell you exactly what I just told you."

Faison seethed. "I'd like to hear it from him."

As he demanded, the Native man, Joseph, took him to the Chief's office, where he gave his brother a knowing glance before Faison got the same tight-lipped, useless answer.

Faison debated using threats and blackmail, but instinct told him to hold off. That the two men wouldn't give in to either.

Instead, he walked away from the town, down to the riverbank.

"Goodbye, Mr. Caisson," Joseph Thunderclap called after him.

Had he said another word, Faison would have struck him. Instead, he rubbed his hands together in the freezing cold. There had to be a way for him to get it out of them...

His thoughts were interrupted by a woman, approaching him.

"Hey…" she cocked her head at him. "I heard you were looking for someone. Someone named Anna."

"How do you...?"

"I was at the Band Council office when you talked to the Chief," she cut him off. "In the back room."

"I see." Faison stared at her long, black hair, blowing in the wind. "I'm with Revenue Canada. I'm looking for her in regards to an income tax issue."

The woman gave him an uninterested look, "I don't care why you're here. But I can help you find her."

"_You_ know where I can find Anna Devane?"

"Yeah. She lives in a cabin that's about an hour and a half from here. It's supposed to be a big secret." She sneered, "Whatever."

Faison couldn't believe his luck. This woman obviously held a grudge. It was like stumbling onto a gold mine. He pulled out a regional map, hardly able to contain his excitement. "Where exactly? Can you show me?"

The woman looked at him slyly, "My name is Lucy. Anna's been staying at my friend's place for the last four days. Most people here protect her, out of respect for Bart. She's in trouble with the The others are protecting her cause I think she's in trouble with the law."

"How can I find her?" Faison pressed, making every effort not to appear eager.

"Not so fast," the woman licked her lips. "What's it worth to you?"

Faison couldn't help but smile, impressed at her audacity. He was prepared to pay her whatever sum she would ask for. "More than you could imagine."

_Bart's Cabin_

Bart stepped out of the boat and onto the shore, helping Shawn anchor the vessel to the lakeshore. Shawn held out his hand to help Alex and Robin jump out. The snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked towards the log cabin.

"Let me go ahead," Bart told them. "Give me five minutes alone with her."

Alex nodded, "Fine."

Bart quickened his pace. Once he was at the cabin, he paused before pushing the heavy, wooden door open. "Anna?" he called out.

He saw her, fully dressed and wearing her nylon backpack, about to head outside. "Good timing," he mumbled.

Anna was surprised to him here, even though she'd prepared herself for Bart's return. Or so she thought. "You're back," she pointed out, unable to contain the hot anger that rose in her throat. It was a stark contrast to the icy tone of her voice.

"Anna, we have to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you." She adjusted her backpack, making no indication that she was going to stay and listen to him.

"Anna. I know you found out about Robin. I'm sorry you found out the way you did."

She offered him an icy glare in return, "Are you? Or are you just sorry that I found out?"

"Anna, please, give me a chance to explain…"

Normally the heartbreaking look on his face would've made her want to hug him. But this time it left her cold.

He deserved whatever guilt and regret was eating him up now. It was the _least_ he deserved for letting her live a lie for over a decade.

"No," Anna shook her head. "You're too late for explanations. You knew I had a daughter, all this time…you _knew!_ You were my best friend, Bart, and I _begged_ you to let me know whether there was someone out there for me, and time and time again you told me there wasn't. Even when I started to remember I asked you if I had a child. _I asked you!_" her voice started to choke, the anger replaced by hurt and bitterness.

Bart was like a father to her. And he'd deceived her worse than anyone else ever had.

"Anna, I'm sorry. I thought I was doing what was best for everyone, you and Robin. I was wrong. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, but there's something else I have to tell you…"

"What? More lies?" It took effort now, to fight back tears. "No thanks. I'm leaving…"

Bart grabbed her arm, "Anna…wait!"

She brushed him off coldly, "Good-bye Bart."

She was out the door before he could stop her and first thing she saw was three people standing by the lakeshore. Snow was falling now and Anna squinted to try to make out who they were.

Anna moved closed, and saw that the woman in the middle, a young, beautiful woman, was looking at her as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Mom?" she whispered, barely loud enough for Anna to hear. The woman who stood next to her, whose face Anna couldn't make out because it was draped in a shawl, gave her a gentle push in Anna's direction.

"Go on," she told her.

Anna's mind took only an instant to make the connection. She drew her hand to her lips, stopping dead in her tracks. '_It can't be…_' she thought, shaking her head in disbelief.

The young woman moved closer to her, while the other two figures remained in the distance. Her beautiful, delicate face became clearer with every step and Anna felt the flow of hot, wet tears running down her cheeks, her body immobile.

The young woman, _her daughter_, was almost standing next to her now, taking off her gloves as she reached out to touch her face.

"Mom…it's me…"

Anna reached out to touch her face too, "I know baby, _I know_…" She put her arms around her, pulling her into an embrace. Robin's tears ran down Anna's thick, winter jacket as she buried her face in it.

Anna didn't know how it was possible that she was holding her daughter in her arms, not entirely sure whether it was real or a dream. 'If it is a dream, then I don't want to wake up…'

She did know one thing with absolute certainty.

She was never going to let go of her again.

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario_

"One thousand dollars," the Native woman, Lucy, announced, without missing a beat.

Her eyes searched for his reaction. It was as though she knew it was a ludicrous amount, but she was aiming high just for the hell of it.

It was a cheekiness that Faison appreciated. So he didn't give her the response she was expecting. "You want me to give you one thousand dollars in exchange for Anna Devane's whereabouts?" he asked non-chalantly.

"You got it."

Faison shrugged his shoulders. "Sounds like a reasonable amount, Lucy."

Lucy gulped, her eyes widening in shock.

Faison pulled out a wad of bills, from the zippered pocket of his jacket. "I only have American funds. I hope that's not a problem."

He didn't think her eyes could get any wider, but they did. "Yeah...yeah, American is fine."

"I'll give you seven hundred now, as a gesture of good faith," he told her. "The remaining three hundred, once I've found her." Faison pressed seven crisp, brand new hundred-dollar bills into her hand. He'd never give her the remaining three, but she didn't need to know that.

Faison tried not to reveal his own delight at observing her greed. "There is one condition I will ask of you."

Lucy grinned, "Sure."

"I don't want you to tell anyone that you told me where to find her."

"Told you _what_?" she shot back with a wink.

Faison pulled out a detailed map of the local area. "Well?" he asked "Where do I find her?"

"Oh…I can't tell you on that thing...that's gibberish to me." Lucy pointed to the riverbank, "You have to go by canoe or boat. There's a fork in the river about thirty kilometres ahead. Stay to your right, and that part of the river takes you into a lake. Lake Mishipeshu…and then keep to your right. Stay close to the shore with the canoe. You'll see a cabin come up on your right. That's where Anna and Bart live. The other four are probably there already. It'll take you either half hour or two hours, depending if you take a motorboat or a canoe, and how fast the currents..."

Faison interrupted her, "What do you mean the other _four_?"

"Anna's daughter and sister went there this morning. And Bart and another guy."

'Another guy'. The thought riled Faison. Four people plus Anna would be hard to take down with his two agents and Jan. "You mean someone from the village went along with them?"

Lucy shook her head, "No. A white guy that came with the others."

Faison cursed to himself. Alex must have told Dimitri. He had to be here with them. The only thing Faison couldn't understand then was why Dimitri wouldn't have insisted on taking one of his private jets here. Dimitri's presence meant he would have one more obstacle to overcome. Faison stared at the woman, his amusement with her changing to irritation. "My men and I are going to need a boat. Preferably one with a motor not a paddle." If they needed to make a silent approach, they could always turn off the motor as they neared the cabin.

Lucy gave him another sly smile. "No problem. No problem at all."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter XVII**

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"You do?" Robin asked her in disbelief. "You _do_ remember me?"

Anna nodded, her heart too heavy for words just yet. She still didn't understand how it was possible that her arms were wrapped around her daughter. _'My baby… my beautiful baby girl…'_

The relief on Robin's face was indescribable. "Mom, it's okay."

_How could I not have remembered you…all these years…how is that possible?_

"Robin…I…"

"Mom, there's someone else you have to meet." Her daughter pointed to the two others in the distance.

Anna wasn't ready to see anyone else just yet. She was unable to take her eyes off her daughter. She removed her gloves and ran her hands along the young woman's face, looking into a pair of exquisitely beautiful brown eyes. Looking at them reminded her aware of the love she first felt for this girl on the day she was born. A love so powerful, she felt its intensity take her breath way now. Robin had been an unexpected miracle, borne out of the love she shared with Robert. 'She was _our_ miracle…_your_ namesake…'

A flood of memories washed over her again. She thought she had remembered everything in the days after finding out the truth on the Internet, but she was wrong. There was so much more.

Images of a little girl taking her first steps as Anna held outstretched arms for her to fall into. The exuberant laughter of a little girl who grew up knowing without a doubt that she was fiercely loved by the woman who had raised her.

"Robin…I can't believe you're here," Anna said cautiously, regaining her voice. The memories had brought on the now familiar throbbing headache and she fought to brush it aside, even as she refused to push the memories aside.

Robin laughed, wiping tears from her face. "I can't believe it either…I can't believe this is real."

Anna smiled at the sound, realizing too that it had been more than a decade since she heard her daughter laugh. She bit her lip in an effort to block the piercing pain beneath her skull. Memory after memory rushed back now, merely by looking at the young woman that stood in front of her.

Robin noticed her mother's lower lip was bleeding. "Mom? What is it?"

"How did you find me?" Anna managed to ask. She wouldn't let her daughter think that her presence was causing her pain. It was the_ last_ thing she wanted.

"Bart…he came to Pine Valley, where I live and work, to see me and Alex…" Her concern grew as she observed her mother. She was unnaturally pale now. "Mom…what's wrong? Tell me…"

Anna shook her head. "Nothing's wrong." She ran a hand through her daughter's hair. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you…how much I…" She felt her vision start to blur again, as it did in Joseph's brother's office, when she read the articles on the Internet. She closed her eyes and forced her mind to focus. She was not going to pass out this time, even if it killed her. 'Not this time,' she swore to herself. 'Not _now _of all times.'

Robin watched her mother, still concerned. Neither of them noticed the two others approach them.

Anna couldn't make out their faces. No matter how much she fought it, the pain was stronger. It was going to defeat her and she hated it. Hated that it had to spoil this precious moment.

"Anna? Come on…let's go inside," the woman gently took her hand and led her towards the cabin.

The woman spoke with a distinctly English accent, but her face was a blur in the pain filled fog that blocked her vision. "Robin…?" she whispered, afraid now. Afraid that she would black out again.

"She needs to lie down," Anna heard the woman tell Bart, who pointed to Anna's room.

The woman forced Anna to lie down, even though Anna tried to stay seated.

She also turned to Robin, as she took off her jacket, and helped Anna take off hers. "Sweetie, I need you to give me some time alone with her. Bart, can you bring me the medication she's been taking for her headaches?"

"I don't want to leave my Mom," Robin insisted and Anna could hear the fear in her daughter's voice, wanting to reassure her but unable to utter a single word. Bart came back and handed the woman a prescription container.

"You're mom's going to be fine," Anna heard her tell Robin. "I expected something like this to happen. Your presence has to be triggering memories for her...maybe you should give her a little bit of space right now."

"No..." Anna protested. She would _not_ have Robin think that her presence was causing her pain.

But Robin had already left and the woman closed the door behind her.

Anna wanted to run after her, but the thought alone intensified the pain in her skull. She cursed as she pressed a hand against her forehead, her eyes shut tight.

The woman squeezed Anna's hand. "Anna, can you hear me?"

She nodded. Her vision might be a blur but her hearing was fine.

"Anna, I need you to open your eyes for me."

Anna did as she asked, even though the effort worsened the pain.

"What do you see?"

"Not much," Anna admitted. She did see a blur amidst the shadows and wondered who this woman was.

"What's not much?"

"I don't know…"

"Come on...I need a real answer," the woman pressed. She was looking into her eyes like a doctor.

"Where's Robin?" Anna demanded trying to push herself off the bed. Her _daughter_ was here. She didn't have time to humour this stranger.

The woman pushed her back down, "I don't think that's a good idea, little sis."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. "_What did you say_?"

The woman examined her prescription container. "What kind of doctor would prescribe this without a diagnosis?" she mumbled in disbelief. Anna vaguely saw her leave the room and then coming back with a glass of water. "Swallow one of these, okay?"

"Who are you?" Anna asked her, as she swallowed the pill.

The woman Alex held up her hand again, "Tell me how many fingers I'm holding up."

Anna pushed her hand down. "I asked you who you are!"

"If you could see me, you wouldn't have to ask," she said softly.

"I don't understand..." Anna groaned. She was in too much pain to play games. She also knew her vision would return once the pain subsided, but that wasn't happening soon enough for her. "Where's Robin?" she demanded.

"Robin's outside in the living room, with Bart," she reassured her. "I want to help you, help you control whatever's causing your pain," she added. "But to do that I need you to help me. I'm a doctor, a neurologist. I want to try and figure out why your memories are causing such a severe reaction."

"What do you know about my memories?" Her vision was slowly coming back and she could see the woman's long, brown hair as well as the glasses she wore now.

"Bart told me," the woman explained. "Except he forgot to mention that if your headaches don't make you pass out, they blind you. Pretty big omission there, Bart," she mumbled.

"Why _you_?"

"Bart brought me here to help you," she told her. "Because I'm your sister. Your twin sister," she added softly.

"What?" Anna wasn't sure she heard right. "My what?"

"My name's Alexandra...Alex...," she said. "Believe me, if you could see me, you wouldn't doubt me."

Anna shook her head, "No...you can't be...my only sister died when I was young. She died of leukemia."

"Our mother had twins. She was told I was still born and she believed it. She never saw me because of a woman named Charlotte Devane. A woman who was married to your… to _our_ father's brother."

"That's crazy," Anna told her, yet even as she said it, her vision cleared enough to know it was true. Looking at the woman who sat on the bed next to her was like looking into a mirror. It made Anna draw back in shock even as she wanted to reach out and touch her face at the time. To make sure she wasn't dreaming. "My sister...I don't know what to say..."

Her sister's eyes watered, "I never thought I'd have the chance to see you, Anna."

"You _knew_ about me?"

Alex nodded, "It's a long story...and I didn't find out about you until about ten years ago. But yes, I dug into my past and found out I was a twin. It's also how I found out about Robin."

Anna nodded, trying to take it all in, grateful that her headache was finally starting to subside and she no longer felt like she might pass out. "It's a lot to absorb...first Robin and now you."

Alex nodded. "I know. I wish we could have softened the blows for you a bit."

She grasped Alex's hand in hers, "That's not what I mean…please don't think that. You have no idea how amazing this is…"

Alex's face was serious and the more her vision improved, the harder it was for Anna to keep from staring at her. Her sister looked so much like herself, it was eerie. Yet, at the same time, there were so many subtle differences. Alexandra was elegant. Everything about her was. From the jewelry she wore, to the cut of her hair, to the way she spoke...it was like looking at a more refined version of herself. Or maybe Anna would look more like Alex, if she didn't live in the middle of nowhere. If the purpose of her clothing went beyond warmth and comfort. It suddenly saddened her to realize that she couldn't remember the last time she'd chosen an outfit for the sole reason of wanting to look good.

"You're not in the best shape right now for this kind of emotional upheaval…"

"Please don't worry about me, Alex," Anna protested. God, she was so tired of others treating her as though she was fragile and weak. "These headaches, they're nothing serious. It's just when I remember things, they come on so strong and so quickly…please tell Robin not to worry or better yet…" She sat up. "Let _me _tell her."

Alex shook her head, "I don't think that's a great idea...Robin knows you didn't mean to push her away. She's a physician too. She'll handle it."

"Robin's a...doctor?"

Alex grinned, "She is. I'd like to think your daughter got that part of the gene pool from me."

"Wow...my little girl. God, there's so much I missed..."

"There's going to be so much time to catch up, Anna. But for now I want you to concentrate on you. For the next couple of hours anyway. Relax, get some rest, and then we'll go from there."

Alex was right on that count. The memories and the resulting pain always left her exhausted. She felt as though she hadn't slept in days. "Alright…but tell her I'm sorry about what happened. Please tell her it's not her fault…"

"You can tell her yourself in a couple of hours," Alex reassured her.

"Please Alex…tell her."

Her sister nodded. "I will...promise. If you promise me you'll try and get some sleep."

Sleep. As if she could sleep knowing her daughter was in the next room. Along with a beautiful twin sister she never knew existed.

Alex covered her with the blanket that lay folded at the foot of the bed. "Get some sleep, okay?"

_Living room_

Alex left the room and closed the door behind her, only to find three anxious faces looking at her. Robin and Bart were seated on the sofa, and O'Malley leaned against the wall, holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Is she okay?" Robin asked her, her eyes full of concern.

Alex nodded, "Yeah…she's going to be fine. She's exhausted, plus the painkiller I gave her will make her drowsy. Hopefully she'll get some sleep as a result."

"Alex…tell me the truth!"

Alex sat down next to her, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes. "It's the truth. What happened...it's not surprising. The memories are what cause the neural activity and seeing you had to trigger memories for her. Maybe more than she could handle." Alex stopped herself when she saw Robin's guilty expression. "But...your Mom's also incredibly strong. She didn't lose consciousness this time. I think she's able to fight her reaction to the memories more now than when she first started to remember. I still want to run a battery of tests on her though, to see what's going on exactly."

"Did you tell her that?"

Alex bit her lip. "No…I thought she was already overwhelmed as it was. One thing at a time."

"Do you think she'll be okay to leave tonight?" Robin asked her.

The original plan was to take Anna back to Bear Lake and then charter a plane out to Thunder Bay and from there, using Alex's papers, continue on a commercial flight to the United Kingdom with Robin. Once Anna and Robin were safe in England with Sanjay, Alex would report her missing passport, contact Dimitri and follow them to the UK on a private jet.

"Maybe we should give her a day to recover. Head back to Bear Lake first thing tomorrow morning," Alex suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," Bart agreed. "We can stay here tonight, let Anna rest and leave first thing tomorrow morning."

O'Malley frowned. "What if we gave her a few hours to rest and then left this afternoon?" he suggested.

"It's snowing outside now. It'll be dark come afternoon," Bart pointed out. "It's better to leave tomorrow morning."

Alex eyed him wondering whether he was trying to postpone the inevitable. Her sister would leave him, most likely forever. Bart knew he didn't figure into their travel plans. He probably also knew that even if he did, Anna might not want him to come along. Her sister had to be furious with him.

Bart gave her a defensive look, as if reading her mind, "I'm only thinking of what's best for Anna..."

O'Malley turned to Alex, "You're the doctor. If that's what you think is best, it's what we'll do. Otherwise, I'd like to leave this afternoon...I have a gut feeling that we should try and get out of here as soon as possible."

Alex looked at him, not sure what to make of his words, before turning to Robin, knowing already what her niece would choose for her mother. "Tomorrow morning…if Anna agrees to it."

_Later_

Alex yawned as she went back to check on Anna. Her sister stirred in her sleep when Alex opened the door to the room.

"Robin?" Anna whispered, half awake, in the darkness.

"No…it's me. Alex." She used a match to light the two oil lamps in the room and sat down on the bed, next to her, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Better…much better. Where's Robin?"

"She's outside, taking a nap. As for your headaches, I expect you to be completely honest with me when I ask you how you are. No stoicism, got it? Not if I'm going to be your doctor."

Anna chuckled. "Got it. I'm going to guess you're the first born.."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Doubt it. I want to do a quick check on your eyesight."

"Don't you need a big poster with different sized letters for that?"

Alex returned her sister's smirk, wondering how things might been had they been allowed to grow up together. She already felt at ease with Anna. She also felt a closeness she had no right to feel given that they barely knew each other. But the inexplicable bond was there nonetheless. She wondered if Anna felt it too. "Don't worry, I've thought of a substitute."

Anna sat up on the bed and Alex had to admit that her sister did look much better than she did three hours ago. Her pallor was gone. Her eyes were alert and clear.

"I want to talk to Robin…"

Alex shook her head. "Not so fast…there's a couple of things I need you to understand before you see Robin again, so we can avoid what happened before. Put a hand over your left eye…"

She moved across the room from her, "How many fingers?"

"Twelve."

Alex raised her eyebrows.

"Kidding…three."

"And now?"

"One."

"Seven."

Alex repeated the tests with her other eye, changing positions to test her peripheral vision, pleased with the results when she was done. "Faulty testing method aside, I'd say your vision's excellent. Better than mine, probably even 20/20."

Anna crossed her legs, sitting on the bed. "That's good isn't it? So why do you look worried?"

"Because your headache reduced your vision almost completely. That's what frightens me."

"But it always comes back…"

"So far…" She turned back towards her sister. "Is your headache completely gone?"

"It's...minimal compared to before."

Alex suspected that admitting even that much was a concession on sister's part and part of her couldn't help but admire her fighting spirit. Charlotte Devane had often lamented the fact that she ended up with the healer instead of the warrior. 'You should be _thankful _you ended up with me instead of Anna,' she thought with a smirk. 'You might not have enjoyed such a long life otherwise.' In moments when Anna wasn't looking, she couldn't help but stare at her. In some ways, Anna looked so much like herself, it was uncanny, in others, there were obvious, jarring differences. Her sister's hair was longer, her eyes slightly darker. She was leaner and more restless too. 'She's tougher than me,' Alex decided. It was probably essential trait for surviving in the wilderness for over a decade. She also seemed like a more captivating, exotic version of herself.

Anna got up, "Can I see my daughter now?"

"When you see Robin this time, I want you to see her for who she is now. A young woman, not the little girl in your memories. Do you think you can do that?"

"I'll try…"

"I want you to try really hard to block your memories, to concentrate on what's in front of you instead."

"It's what Bart's been telling me all along," she said softly. "I guess he didn't have to be a neurologist to figure that one out." She looked at Alex with a smirk. "I will. The last thing I want Robin to think is that seeing her makes me ill."

Both of them left the room to see Bart and O'Malley sitting outside.

Shawn got up and held out his hand to Anna, "I haven't had a chance to introduce myself…Shawn O'Malley."

Anna shook his hand in turn, "Are you...my sister's husband?"

O'Malley laughed, "No...I'm the Director of Security at your sister's home."

Anna eyed Alex, "Director of Security?"

Alex blushed. No matter how shocking it had been for her to see her sister today, it had to be so much more so for Anna. At least Alex had known about Anna. Anna, on the other hand, had not only not known about her existence, she knew nothing about her.

"I've heard a lot about your work in the WSB, as well as the Port Charles Police," Shawn told her

"Thanks...I think." This time is was Anna who blushed. "It feels strange...to have all of you know about me, when I know nothing about you."

"Give us a couple of hours and we'll change that," O'Malley added with a smile. Alex was grateful for the ease with which he'd changed the direction of the conversation.

"Where's Robin?" she asked him.

Alex noticed that Anna hadn't so much as met Bart's glance since stepping into the room.

"She went for a nap in Bart's room," O'Malley told her.

"I want to see her."

Alex nodded and saw Anna quietly opening the door of the bedroom, so as not to wake her in the event that she was still asleep. Instead, she saw Robin daughter seated on Bart's desk chair, four containers of pills in front of her, a glass of water in her hand.

Robin turned around with lightning speed. "Mom, I thought you were sleeping!"

Alex cringed, knowing exactly what Robin to be thinking. She wasn't ready to explain her HIV status. Not _that _and not _yet_.

Anna's mouth dropped open in shock, a hand moving over her mouth. "Robin, sweetheart, what's wrong with you? Why do you have so many pills here?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter XVIII**

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Robin…look at me," Anna insisted in disbelief as she glanced at the containers of medication sitting on Bart's desk, next to Robin. "What's wrong with you? Are you sick?"

Robin took a deep breath, wishing this wasn't happening. 'I need more time before I can tell you this,' she thought. 'More time to get to know you again…' A part of her wished that Alex was in the room with them. She always knew what to say in moments like this. More importantly she knew, _how_ to say it. Her aunt had a gentle way of making the cold, hard truth seem somehow less harsh and more manageable. Right now, she wished it was a talent she shared.

"Robin?"

While she might not exactly know her mother anymore, if she was anything like she remembered, she'd pester her until Robin spit it out. Never mind that she was a lousy liar.

"I have HIV, Mom."

Anna shook her head, looking at her in shock, as if waiting for her to say it wasn't true. That it was a cruel joke of sorts. "No…that can't be, Robin. That's not possible…"

"Mom, it's…let me explain…"

"You have _AIDS_ ?"

"No, not AIDS, Mom… _HIV_."

"HIV causes AIDS…Robin. I may have lived in the wilderness for over ten years but I read newspapers, magazines...it's the virus that causes AIDS…" Her voice choked. "No, Robin..."

"HIV can cause AIDS, but not always and not immediately, Mom. In some cases, not _ever_. It's why I have to take all these pills. It's a drug cocktail to prevent my HIV from becoming full-blown AIDS. I've taken it for years now."

Robin watched her mother trying to compose herself, trying to veil her shock and disbelief. And doing an absolutely lousy job of it. "Mom, I'm okay. I'm not dying. I know HIV sounds terrible. People hear the word and they think it's a death sentence. I thought so too, when I first found out. I was scared to death, but it's something I've learned to live with, to accept as part of my life."

Her mother was crying now. Thick tears rolled down her cheeks. "I wasn't there for you…all these years. I wasn't there to comfort you then...to hold you...maybe if I had been..."

"Mom, don't."

"How?" she managed to ask. "How did you get it?"

"My boyfriend…my first boyfriend. His name was Stone."

Robin saw the expression on her mother's face. The anger. She wondered whether she'd have forgiven Stone the same way Robin did. "It wasn't his fault, Mom. He didn't know. He loved me so much, and I loved him. I don't regret a single thing."

"Where is he now?"

"He died. He died of AIDS… I was there, next to him, when he died. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. To let him go."

"You faced all that alone?"

Robin stared at her mother, biting her lip to fight back her own tears. How often had she been angry at both of her parents for daring to leave her just as she needed them most? For dying too soon. After Alex had told her that Anna was alive, there was part of her that had wanted her mother to know exactly that, to feel some guilt for not having been able to remember her. No matter how much logic told her that the amnesia wasn't her mother's fault, there was a part of her that _wanted_ her mother to know how much it hurt.

And now all it took was one heartbreaking look into her mother's eyes to realize how wrong she'd been to think that her mother wouldn't understand how she felt. 'No one is going to be harder on you than yourself,' Robin thought. 'Knowing you weren't there when I needed you is hurting you more than it could ever hurt me.'

Robin reached out to touch her mother's tear streaked face. "It's not your fault, Mom. None of this is…"

"It _is_, Robin. It _is_ my fault…and I'm so sorry."

Robin pulled her mother into a hug. "Mom…don't do this to yourself." Her mother's tears made her cry too, and just then Robin couldn't understand her emotions anymore. She ran her fingers through her mother's hair. "It's okay, Mom...it's all going to be okay."

_Outside, near the cabin_

Cesar Faison was the first one to spot the log cabin by the lakeshore.

"Turn off the motor!" he ordered. Leila Moyo, the black woman, did as he asked and plunged them into a silent world. The only audible sound they heard was the rippling of the waves against the hull of their boat.

It had taken them far longer to procure a motorboat large enough to accommodate their supplies, than Lucy's "No problem," would have led Faison to believe. It was now late afternoon and Faison hoped they'd be on land before losing the last vestiges of sunlight. Dimitri's presence meant that storming cabin to forcibly retrieve Anna, as he'd originally planned, wasn't a viable option. They were outnumbered and the chances of failure would be too great. Failure was not a risk he was willing to take.

He had to assume that everyone in the cabin would be armed, not with handguns, but most likely with hunting rifles, and the fact that Dimitri and Bart, as well as Alex and Anna were fully trained in the use of firearms would give Faison and his team less than stellar odds. "We won't have to do much to extract Anna from the cabin. She'll realize that coming with us is the best thing for her."

"How so?" Michaud asked him, shivering in the cold.

The sarcasm in the man's voice made Faison regret taking the Frenchman along. However, this time he bit his tongue. He needed the full co-operation of all three of them to achieve his goal. 'I'll fire him as soon as the operation has successfully ended, and I'm back in Europe with Anna,' he thought.

"Anna's going to do whatever she can to minimize the risk to the others. We just need to convince her the lives of the others are at risk…" he explained."Pull over here," he ordered, not wanting to get close enough to the cabin to be spotted.

"It'll be better if we anchor it a bit further down," Leila Moyo countered. Wilderness survival was her area of expertise, and it was one of the reasons Faison had chosen her to accompany them.

"Fine," he agreed.

They pulled the boat to the shore, lugging the four huge bags of supplies onto the snow-covered ground in absolute silence.

"Stake out the cabin," Faison ordered. The thrill of what was happening sent an unexpected rush of adrenaline through his body. She was so close now.

Moyo and Michaud spotted the cabin's only two windows and positioned themselves so they could look inside them if need be, readying their weapons, as they waited for further orders from Faison.

Faison and Jan stealthily checked out their surroundings, weapons in hand, until an unexpected noise made them stop dead in their tracks.

It was the sound of a dog barking.

Faison was the first one to spot the grey Husky, standing, unleashed, outside a doghouse near the front of the cabin. He barked loudly letting the cabin's occupants know that an intruder was approaching.

"Damn it," Faison cursed. He wasn't ready to announce his presence. Not yet.

Inside the cabin, O'Malley was the first one to hear the sounds of the dog barking outside. "Is something wrong?" he asked Bart.

Bart shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. It could be timber wolves or a moose. Wappie lets us know when someone or something's nearby."

"Should we check it out?" O'Malley questioned.

Bart got up from the sofa. "I'll go check on Wappie."

Outside, Faison glared at the animal in the distance. He had to make a decision. The dog would be trouble. "Kill it," he ordered Jan.

"It's just a dog," Jan pointed out. He had no qualms about killing a man in cold blood. Most men deserved their fate. But animals were another matter. He avoided harming them whenever possible.

"I said '_Kill it'_!"

Jan nodded and aimed his shotgun, firing two rounds in quick succession.

The animal slumped to the ground in a heap, wailing pitifully.

Inside the cabin, Bart was about to put on his coat when he heard the dog's bone chilling wail, following the sounds of gunfire. "_What the hell…?_"

O'Malley reacted instantly. His first thought was of the two women he was hired to keep from harm. He saw Alex coming out of Anna's room, a confused expression on her face. "What's going on?"

"_Get down_! Away from the windows! On the ground! _Now_!" He pulled his Colt from its holster just as Anna and Robin emerged from the other room.

"Get down!" he repeated, noticing Anna push her daughter to the ground even before he gave his order.

"Stay down, sweetheart, don't move," Anna told Robin. She glanced at Bart, who was still standing up, in spite of O'Malley's orders. "What's happening?"

"I heard Wappie…he sounded like he's been hit…there was gunfire."

Wappie. Her loyal friend and companion had been shot. Anna eyed the hunting rifle in the corner. If someone had dared to shoot her dog in cold blood, she wasn't about to hide on the floor of the cabin. She grabbed the hunting rifle and headed for the door.

"I don't think so…" O'Malley mumbled when he saw what she was about to do. He pushed Anna down to the floor, the weight of his body covering hers.

His actions stopped her from leaving, but they couldn't stop Bart from doing the same.

"_Don't_!" he tried to warn the old man. "Stay inside the cabin!"

Bart ignored him. He stepped outside and saw Wappie lying in a heap. The snow beneath the dog was dark red. "Oh no...Wappie!" Bart's face was full of despair when he saw that the animal was barely breathing, its breaths coming in short, painful gasps. "Oh no...". Bart looked directly into the dog's eyes, letting him know he wouldn't let him suffer.

"I'm so sorry, old buddy. I swear I'll get the bastard who did this..." Then Bart aimed his rifle at the dog's temple and fired.

Right afterwards he spotted two figures in the distance. He didn't hesitate when he raised his rifle a second time and aimed it at them.

He was too late.

One of the figures in the distance had fired first.

Bart felt a sudden, intense pain searing into his flesh.

Then he slumped down next to the dead animal in the blood-covered snow.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter XIX**

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Get _off_ me!" Anna demanded, struggling to breathe underneath the weight of Shawn O'Malley's body.

"Stop fighting me!"

She was no match for his physical strength, not that that stopped her from trying. "As long as I think you're going to run outside and get yourself killed I'm staying right where I am; _on top of you!_ "

Anna turned herself around underneath him, so her face was no longer facing the floor of cabin but O'Malley's angry expression instead. She used her hands to grab the collar on his jacket. "It sounded like Bart was hit. He needs help _damn it_!"

"He was shot because he didn't listen to me! Because he didn't stay inside like I told him to!" His eyes met hers without flinching. "We have no idea who's out there, how many of them, what they want…the safest place for us right now, is in here." From the corner of his eye, he caught Alex about to get back up from the floor. "Stay down!" he ordered.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked.

"We don't know yet…" he started but then he felt the pull of Anna's hands on his shirt again, forcing him to face her.

"_Please_…my friend is out there and he's hurt. If my sister were in his place, would you just leave her there? To die?"

"Of course not…"

Her dark, angry eyes were unrelenting. O'Malley pushed himself off the ground, and consequently off Anna, taking his Colt and thrusting it into her hand. "Fine…you cover me then."

Anna nodded, both exasperated and relieved. "Finally…"

"Mom…what do you think you're doing?" Robin raised her head from the floor.

"Stay down, sweetheart. We're going to get Bart back in here."

Both Anna and O'Malley approached the door of the cabin, opening it ever so slightly. Slowly. Cautiously.

Shawn saw Bart, lying in the snow, moaning, one of his hands on his thighs, bleeding into the snow.

As they opened the door, Anna saw two figures in the distance and raised the semi-automatic. "Get Bart…I've got these two." O'Malley prepared himself for the noise as she started to fire, dashing towards the old man as she did. He put his arms under Bart's armpits, dragging him back inside. He saw the two figures in the distance return Anna's fire and a bullet whizzed past his ear, dangerously close, landing in the wood of the log cabin instead of his head. He raised his eyes long enough to see that one of the figures were hit. Anna had nailed him squarely in the centre of the body mass and he collapsed into the snow.

It was a beautiful shot. One that he couldn't have executed any better.

Instead of returning her fire, the other figure, in a very surprising move, dove into the snow of his own free volition. Bart was almost completely inside the cabin. "Stop firing. Get back in!" O'Malley ordered Anna.

She did just that, slamming the wooden door shut behind her.

O'Malley left Bart on the floor, breathless. "Help me barricade the door with whatever heavy items you can push in front of it…" he told Anna, interrupted by the sound of more gunfire and the bone chilling noise of glass shattering into thousands of pieces. "Same for the windows! We have to cover them!"

Alex ran over to check on Bart, still lying on the floor, while O'Malley and Anna worked feverishly to block any possible entrance to the cabin. A thick, steady flow of blood oozed from the old man's thigh. "Robin, I'm going to need your help with this," Alex called out to her niece, while ripping open the fabric of the pants that surrounded the wound.

"Where's the first aid kit?" Robin asked Bart, while he was still coherent. With both of them being hunters and living in the middle of nowhere, Robin figured they had to have extensive first aid supplies on hand.

"In the cabinet over there…" he whispered, through clenched teeth.

Robin pulled out a large, white, first aid box, and, as she suspected, it far was better stocked than those found in the average suburban home. "Thank God," she mumbled.

Robin kneeled down next to Alex, whose expression was grim.

"I can't find an exit wound," she whispered.

Robin frowned. That meant the bullet was lodged somewhere in the flesh of his thigh, and judging from the pain the old man seemed to be in, it was quite possibly lodged near the bone, having severed one or more nerve endings on its way in. Infection wasn't just a possibility but likelihood if it wasn't removed immediately.

"He needs something for the pain..." Robin told her.

Alex nodded in agreement, rifling through the first aid kit, disappointed to find nothing stronger than aspirin.

"Get me your mother's prescription," she told Robin. "Either that or the bottle of brandy that's sitting in the mantle of the fireplace..." Robin came back with the container of medication and Alex forced him to swallow two pills, hoping they'd have enough of an effect in a short time to allow her to examine the wound better.

O'Malley and Anna joined them once the windows, including the broken one, were sealed with wooden boards and a large, heavy cabinet was pushed against the door.

"How is he?" Anna asked, breathless.

"He's probably been better." She looked at Bart. "Right?"

Bart's face was beginning to take on a reddish glow. "Anna…I…"

Anna took his hand in hers. "You knew I wouldn't be able to stay angry if you got shot, didn't you?"

He laughed painfully. "You got it. Saw right through me, as usual."

"You're lucky you've got two doctors in the house. They're going to take good care of you."

Bart clutched her hand, "Who's out there, Anna? Why is someone trying to kill us?"

She shook her head, "I don't know…I think I hit one of them."

He smiled, his breathing heavy and laboured. "Good. I hope it's the bastard that killed Wappie."

She kissed his hand, "I want you to try and rest. Let Alex and Robin take care of you."

"I'm sorry, Anna…"

She cut him off, putting her index finger on his lips. "We're going to have this argument when you're in shape to fight back, alright?"

"If…"

"No, not 'if'…_when_."

"I'd like to move him to the bed in his room," Alex told her.

Anna glanced at O'Malley, "Well…how about it? You want a chance to use those muscles for something other than keeping me pinned to the floor?"

He shook his head in disblief. "Sure…unless you'd rather do it yourself."

Bart groaned as O'Malley moved his arms underneath him to pick him up and transport him to the bed, where Alex proceeded to examine him.

When she was done, Alex went back outside to look for her sister.

"I tried to locate the bullet. It's too deep, Anna. If it wasn't, Robin and I could have removed it, even with what's in your first aid kit, but given where it's located it's too much of a risk. We don't have any equipment on hand if he loses too much blood."

"What are you saying, Alex?"

"We have to get him to a hospital. The wound _will _get infected if we can't remove the bullet..."

Anna ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know what to tell you…Shawn thinks our only choice is to stay here for now. Barricaded inside, like prisoners."

"You know I'm right," Shawn cut in.

"I don't know anything right now."

"We don't know how many of them are out there, but we do know they're armed. And they want us to know it. I'm willing to bet it's why they fired the shot through the window. To let know there's more than two of them, and that they're not just armed, but organized."

"Why would they want us to know that?," Anna questioned. "If we think they're outnumbered it would make sense for us to head out and try and take them on…and then they could prove us wrong. The warning shot doesn't make sense."

Shawn ran his hand along his chin. "Maybe they don't want to lure us out. Maybe they want us exactly where we are. Sitting ducks inside the cabin."

"Do you think it's the WSB?" Robin interjected.

Anna shook her head as she turned to her daughter. "No…the WSB is a lot of things but not this. They're a sanctioned intelligence agency. They may serve orders to kill ex-agents who they believe betrayed them, but they don't gun down pet dogs and ex-employees without so much as a warning." The thought of her beloved husky lying dead outside in the snow, made her feel ill.

"I agree with you," Shawn said. "This isn't the work of the WSB. So…you want to tell us who else wants you dead?"

She gave him a look of disbelief, "What are you implying?"

Alex stepped in between them, trying to avoid the argument she could see brewing. "Look…we don't even know what these people want. We have no idea who they're after."

Shawn nodded, regretting his outburst when he saw Anna's expression. It wasn't usually his nature to make uncertain accusations. "You're right. I'm sorry. I had no right to say that."

Anna sat down, biting her lip. Afraid that Shawn did have a point. That it was _her_ that they were after. "It's okay…we're all a bit on edge at the moment."

Robin managed a nervous laugh, "That's an understatement."

O'Malley picked up his Colt. "How many rifles do you have here?" he asked Anna.

"Three. Bart and I each have our own, as well as a spare."

"Ammunition?"

"More than enough."

"Good."

The conversation made Alex shiver and she left the three of them to check on Bart.

Robin looked at O'Malley and her mother, "What do we do now?"

O'Malley paused before answering, the full weight of what happened sinking in only now. "For now we do nothing. We wait, until they make their first move. Until we find out what they want."

_Outside the cabin_

Cesar Faison was livid.

"I can't believe you returned her fire! What part of me wanting to spend the rest of my life with this woman is not clear to you?"

Jan painfully removed his bulletproof vest, still sore from the hit he took. "She tried to kill us. I thought maybe that would make you change your mind…"

"She had no idea it was me."

Jan rolled his eyes, turning his head around so Faison wouldn't see. "Of course…she didn't know it was _you_. I forgot we didn't make any introductions before gunning down the old man! All I know is that your girlfriend is deadly when armed, and I would be a dead man right now if it wasn't for this vest!"

Faison kneeled down to examine his bruised chest, "You'll be fine. A little sore for the next couple of days, but fine." They were seated inside the winterized tent that Moyo had erected for them, taking a much-needed break from the ice-cold temperatures outside. It was still cold in the tent; their only source of heat was a battery-powered heater and a fuel powered stove. In the meantime, Moyo and Michaud continued their surveillance of the cabin.

"All things considered, the raid we staged didn't go too badly."

Jan gave him a sceptical look. "You think?"

"We injured the old guy. That means we have one less person to worry about putting up a fight. Also, the shot I ordered Michaud to fire through the window will have them guessing. They know there's at least three of us out here. It will make them reluctant to leave their little fortress."

"How is that good for us? It's freezing out here, the sooner we get this over with the better. We should raid the cabin right now…take them by surprise."

Faison shook his head. He appreciated Jan's blind loyalty but could never quite comprehend his lack of logic. "I want Anna to walk out of there willingly and alone. The last thing we need is a gunfight. I won't risk injuring Anna. Her state of health is precarious as it is, if the old man was telling Alexandra the truth."

Jan grimaced. "She didn't seem too ill when she fired those rounds at me."

"Her marksmanship is outstanding, that's all," Faison told him, a hint of pride in his voice. "I told you this before we came here. You shouldn't have made yourself out to be such an easy target."

"So you want us to sit and wait here until your girlfriend comes out holding up a white flag?"

Faison frowned, annoyed at Jan's glib reference to Anna being his girlfriend. She was more than that._ Much_ more. "Yes, for now we wait. Moyo found their boat and hid it. That means if they venture out of the cabin they have nowhere to go, except on foot into the forest."

Jan sat down on the cold, hard ground, massaging his sore chest before covering himself with a thick, thermal sleeping bag. "You're the boss."

Faison nodded, "That's right." He took a sip of tea from one of the thermoses they'd taken along, and bit into a nutrient bar. 'Soon Anna, so soon.'

He smiled, before he closed his eyes and rested.

_Inside the cabin _

_Later that day_

Anna peeked into Bart's room watching her sister sitting on the rim of his bed, taking his temperature with the thermometer that she found in the first aid kit.

It was surreal to see her sitting there. This woman who was a mirror image of herself. A stranger. _Her twin sister_.

Anna saw Alex frown when she read the temperature. She turned around when she heard Anna approach.

"Hey..."

"How is he?" Anna whispered, moving to sit down next to her.

"It's not good," she whispered. "His temperature's rising."

Anna met her sister's eyes, "Can he hear us?"

Alex shook her head, "No. He's out cold right now, thanks to those pills." She gave Anna a tired smile. "At first I wondered about the doctor who gave you something so damn strong. Now, I'm grateful."

"What can you do for him?" Anna asked.

Alex looked doubtful. "To be honest...not much. I can try to keep him comfortable and attempt to keep down the fever, but unless he gets to a hospital and has that bullet removed, it's only going to get worse. His age doesn't help. His immune system isn't strong enough to fight off this kind of attack."

Anna felt her face flush with guilt and anger.

Alex eyed her. "I'm sorry...but I figured you'd want the truth." She put the thermometer back into its container and looked at Anna. "How are _you_? After almost collapsing earlier today, I wouldn't have prescribed a shoot-out for you right afterwards... "

Anna smirked. Outwardly, her sister seemed so much more serious and reserved that Anna was. 'But there's more to you than meets the eye, Alex...' Anna thought. The truth was she knew next to nothing about her sister. But what little she was starting to know, she liked. "I'm fine. Really," Anna told her. "I'm the last person you need to worry about right now."

Alex nodded, "Fair enough."

In fact, Anna thought, her sister looked worse for wear that she did at the moment. She looked pale, shaken.

"Are _you_ alright?"

"Yeah..." Alex gave her a lopsided smile, and changed her mind. "No. Honestly, I'm scared. For us. For Robin..." She glanced over at Bart, "Especially for Bart. What just happened, it's crazy, Anna. Someone tried to shoot and kill us and we have no idea who or why."

"What happened makes no sense..." Anna agreed.

"My husband, he has no idea I'm here," Alex told her. "Bart convinced me not to tell anyone about you..."

Anna cringed. "I'm sorry, he had no right..."

"No," Alex cut her off, "It's not that. Before coming here, Dimitri told me he was worried something terrible might happen. He gets these feelings sometimes, premonitions if you will. Now I'm thinking, what if he was right?" She managed another lop-sided smile. "God, that must sound crazy."

Anna smirked, "No...no, it doesn't." There was so much she wanted to know about her sister. She wanted to spend hours asking her so many endless questions. How long had Robin lived with her? Did her daughter choose to become a doctor because of her aunt? Did Alex have children ofher own? There were so many questions. But it felt wrong to ask them now.

"Shawn and Robin prepared some food," Anna told her. "None of us have eaten anything all day. Not since the shooting this morning. "

Alex nodded, "You're right. I haven't realized it, but I am starving..."

She stood up from the rim of Bart's bed and suddenly Anna saw her hold on to the wall for support.

"Alex?" Anna jumped up to move her arms around her sister. "Hey…are you okay?"

She looked even more shaken and pale than before. "Yeah…I'm fine. I…I just got up too fast."

The sudden dizziness didn't strike Anna as normal, not for someone her sister's age. "Is it because you haven't eaten?"

"I think so..." Alex agreed, not entirely convincing.

Anna bit her lip, guilt flooding her again. Of course her sister wasn't alright. While _she_ might have been able to spring into action in a heartbeat, reacting on instinct more than anything else, most people didn't react well to having gunmen standing outside, ready to aim if they made a wrong move. Anna was used to living in danger. Her sister wasn't. Alex had probably never held a gun in her life. Anna couldn't blame her, if her nerves were shot.

Anna made her sit back down. "I'm sorry…that you're in this mess because of me…"

"Don't…" Alex stopped her. "I came with here with Robin because I wanted to."

'No…you came here because Bart asked you to…' she thought to herself. "Do you have kids, Alex?" Maybe now _was_ a good time to get her sister's mind off the craziness of their situation.

"I have a son," she told her. "He's nine years old. He's got this wicked grin, and he's a complete rascal. I've been told he takes after his aunt."

"So there's another sister you want to tell me about?"

Alex laughed, "You wish. But even though he's a rascal, he's gentle too. His got a good heart, like his Dad."

"What's his name?"

"Maximillian Dimitri."

This time is was Anna who laughed, "What a mouthful."

Alex grinned. "We call him Max."

Anna then saw O'Malley sticking his head in the door.

"Robin and I made dinner. Are you joining us? We have to talk about what we're going to do…"

Anna met his eyes. "Yeah, in a sec." She glanced back at her sister, "He makes it sound so casual. Like having dinner is the most normal thing in the world…as if Bart weren't lying here fighting for his life, while we're surrounded by armed men who could storm us any minute…" She regretted her words as soon as she saw her sister's expression. "I mean, not that that's necessarily a bad thing…a little normalcy."

Alex nodded, "I'm glad he's here. If anyone can help us out of this mess…"

"You're going to get back to your son…to Max. I swear Alex…I promise you." Then she extended a hand to her sister, "Come on, let's join Robin and Shawn, and find a way to get back at those bastards outside."

_Later_

"Bart is badly injured and needs to get to a hospital. Our cell phones have no reception here and there is no other means of communicating with the outside world since you have no phones here. On top of it all, the only person who knows where we are is Joseph. Joseph and his family," O'Malley told them, quietly and matter of factly, after taking the final bite of his stew. "That's the bad news."

"Okay, I'm ready for the good news now," Robin mumbled.

"There are some positives," O'Malley countered. "We're well armed. We have more than enough food, thanks to your winter storage, and for the time being I'm willing to bet we're a lot warmer than our friends outside."

"Why can't we go out and try and take them on, since, as you pointed out, we're well armed?" Anna asked him.

Shawn raised his eyebrows, wondering if she was always this reckless. "Well, for starters because I'd like all of us to make it out of this alive. We also have no idea how many men are out there."

"If they want us dead, all they'd have to do is torch this place at night…"

Shawn raised his eyebrows and shot a look in Anna's direction, seeing her cringe at her own words a second after she said them. Her reaction almost made him smirk. Besides being reckless, she also seemed to have a natch for speaking before thinking. Diplomacy obviously wasn't her strong suit. Not that he could judge her on _that _count. It wasn't his either.

"What I meant is, what happened to attack is the best defence? I think our chances are greater if we try and make it to the boat…than if we wait for them to storm us by surprise."

"But we don't know what they want yet," he countered. "I want to wait until they let us know."

Robin glanced at her mother. "I think he's right, Mom. We should wait and see…maybe Joseph will come here. We told him we'd head back to Bear Lake by tomorrow at the latest. Maybe he'll start to wonder if we don't show up."

"I agree with her," Alex added, digging her fork into her stew.

"It's settled then. For now, we stay put," Shawn told them, pushing his chair from the table. "We'll take turns sleeping at night." He turned towards Anna. "If you'll give me a hand, I'd like to check all the rifles and have them ready and loaded for use."

Anna nodded and got up from the table too. "The ammunition is in a drawer in my room."

Robin was about to get up as well when she felt Alex's hand on her arm, "What is it?" she asked.

Alex paused until Anna and Shawn were out of earshot. "The protocol, Robin. How many days worth of meds did you take along?"

Robin averted her eyes. "I have enough."

"How many _days_ worth, Robin?"

Suddenly, before she had a chance to answer, they all heard a loudspeaker coming from outside the cabin.

Anna and Shawn dashed back into the living room. Shawn raised a hand to his lips, "They're trying to tell us something…"

Alex's eyes were wide with fear when she heard the voice on the loudspeaker outside. It was heavily accented and eerily familiar.

"_Hello Anna. I've missed you, my love. I've only come to find you. I don't mean to hurt anyone. Everyone is safe to go, as long as you come with me._"

Shawn saw Anna's face drain of colour as the voice continued.

"_Did you hear me, Anna? All I need is for you to come out to me. My men and I mean no harm, as long as you come out alone. Alone and unarmed. That's all we ask._"

The inside of the cabin was silent as the voice on the loudspeaker continued.

"_Anna, my love, can you hear me? I don't want to hurt anyone. All I want is you._"


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter XX**

_Bart's cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

Anna slumped into the sofa, drained and shocked after hearing the voice from the loudspeaker. "Cesar Faison is _alive_?" She noticed that neither her daughter nor Alex seemed as shocked as she was by_ that_ bit of news. "Robin? Did you know?"

Robin sat down next to her. "Yes...but not until last year."

"Last year…?" Anna raised her eyebrows.

"He kidnapped Alex in London," Robin turned to her aunt. "That's how we met for the first time. After Dimitri got to her just in time."

Anna shook her head looking at her sister in disbelief. "Why? Why in the world would he kidnap you?" Yet the realization dawned on her even as she asked herself the question. "It's…because you look like me, isn't it?" she whispered, her voice heavy with guilt. "Because you look _exactly_ like me." How many more people she loved would have to pay for _her_ sins? _Her_ mistakes? For the enemies that _she_ had made? Robert died because his love for her had led him to an exploding tanker. Robin had grown up without her parents because her mother couldn't remember her past. Even Alex, her twin sister, had to face a madman from _her_ past simply because she had the misfortune of looking like her.

"I thought he died on the boat with me and Robert…" was all she could utter.

She could remember the explosion clearly now. Robert's face staring at her, one last time, his arm reaching towards her, before the entire vessel was engulfed in a searing, red-hot fire. Acrid burning smells and the deafening thunder of total destruction came to her mind and she fought back the now familiar headache that accompanied so many of her memories.

"We don't know how he survived," Alex told her.

Anna raised her head to look at Alex, "But he's outside our door now because he wants me back? Wappie's dead and Bart's wounded because of Cesar Faison's obsession. Because an enemy from my past has decided to storm back into my life…"

Shawn O'Malley frowned. "What I want to know is how he found us."

"It's a good question," Alex agreed. "How _did _he find us? Did he find the cabin on his own and end up here at the same time as us, in a monumental case of coincidence, or did _we_ lead him here?"

"We weren't followed," Shawn pointed out. "I'm sure of that. There's no way they could have followed us on the roads we travelled on, not without us noticing."

"There _was_ something odd…" Robin cut in, remembering something. "In that little town we stayed at, there was this Lincoln town car that pulled in and out of the motel parking lot really quick when I went back to get something I left in the car that night."

"A town car?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah, it looked like a luxury car. It was large and had tinted windows…"

Alex observed O'Malley. "What are you thinking?"

"Someone could have tracked your car, Dr. Marick. If that's the case Faison could have followed us at a safe distance."

"What does it matter how Faison got here?" Anna asked. "What matters is that he's here and armed, with others to help him out…unless we give him what he wants."

"Mom…don't even _think_ that," Robin told her, a lump in her throat.

Alex looked at her. "She's right, Anna. That's not an option."

Anna gave them all a frustrated look. "Why not? Why should all of us cower here in fear when it's me that he wants? Bart needs to go a hospital and the longer we wait, the more risk we put him in! Cesar Faison is_ my_ problem,_ my_ past…I won't put all of your lives at risk because of it!"

"I can't believe you just said that..." Robin stood up, making no efforts to hide her angry disbelief. "What about me, Mom? I'm supposed to watch you walk out there, into his trap?. I'm supposed to lose you again,_ a day after I found you_?"

Alex got up to put an arm around her niece. "Robin…your Mom's not going anywhere." She glared at Anna. "Right?"

Anna didn't know what to say. Her head was pounding and all she could think of was that she was the reason for everything that had just transpired. Wappie's death. Bart's bullet wound. 'All of this is my fault. _Again_.'

"No one's doing anything on their own," O'Malley told them. "This is exactly what Faison wanted with that little announcement of his." He observed Anna. "He's lying about not wanting to hurt anyone, about wanting only Anna. He's already proven that's not true. He thinks he can guilt you into walking out there with a white flag in hand…but if he wants to get to you, he'll have to go through all of us. Once he knows that, I'm betting he won't even try."

Anna caught Robin mouthing a silent 'thank you' to O'Malley.

"Aren't you supposed to be protecting my sister?" Anna countered.

Robin wondered what made O'Malley say what he did. In fact, a part of her feared that he, of all people, would encourage her mother to give herself up to Cesar Faison, precisely because it _was _his job to keep Alex safe. But whatever his reasons were, for letting them know that Anna was going to be under his protection as much as the rest of them, Robin was grateful.

"So what _do_ we do?" Anna asked him.

"The same thing we were going to do before we heard what we just heard. We're going to sit tight and wait."

"Since when are you in charge?" Anna demanded.

"If you prefer, we can vote on it. Although it looks like the results might not go in your favour," he deadpanned

Robin couldn't help a smile. _Looks like you've met your match, Mom_. At least one person in this room wouldn't be intimidated by her mother's determination and bullheadedness.

Alex checked her Omega watch. "It's so late…we're all exhausted."

"I agree," O'Malley answered. "Why don't you and Robin try and get some sleep in the bedroom, while I keep guard with Anna. We need sleep but we need to do it in shifts."

"Doesn't it make more sense for you to pair up with Alex and me with Robin?"

Much as Robin wanted to spend time talking to her mother, she sensed what O'Malley was doing. Wanting to team up with her mother, because he was the only one who had the physical strength to prevent her from doing something stupid.

"I need to discuss a few things with Alex about Bart," Robin told her, knowing it must sound like the most contrived reason in the world. Because really, it was.

Anna skeptically looked at both her and O'Malley. "I see..." She then turned to the bedroom. "Fine, we'll do eight hour shifts. You and Alex try and get as much sleep during it as you can. Shawn and I can check on Bart too."

"I'll take another look at him now," Alex told her.

Robin squeezed her mother's shoulder before making her way to the tiny bedroom, "Promise me you won't do anything dumb?" she asked her.

Anna smiled a lop-sided smile. "Aren't I supposed to be saying things like that to you?"

Robin managed a grin, "I was always the level-headed one, Mom."

"Why am I not surprised at that?" O'Malley quipped.

_Two hours later _

"That was a nice little speech you gave earlier. It's exactly what my daughter wanted to hear," Anna mumbled. It was the firs thing she'd said in over an hour of uncomfortable silence.

"I meant it."

"_Why_? Isn't it your job to keep my sister safe? Aren't you doing the exact opposite by preventing me from giving Faison what he wants?"

O'Malley shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think you going out there to be our sacrificial lamb is necessarily going to keep anyone safe."

"I'd say it would increase our odds," she shot back.

He watched her press a hand against her forehead. "Do you have another headache?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I'm fine."

He looked at her and hid a smirk. _You'd say that even if you weren't_. He wondered whether he knew because he could read her with surprising ease, or whether it was because they were cut from the same cloth. Stubborn, bull-headed, ex-operatives. "Your guilt and your headaches go hand in hand, don't they?"

"Are you a shrink too, on top of all your other skills?"

Thsi time he did smile. She was quick. He had to give her credit for that. "I just call them the way I see them."

Anna bit her lip, as if uncomfortable at how easily he read her. "I get headaches because I was hit by a piece of a burning metal fourteen years ago. Not for any other reason."

"Right. Of course."

"Besides," she added softly, "What would you know about guilt?"

The question made her gaze lose its intensity and she suddenly seemed lost in thought. And for the first time since they met, he couldn't read her at all. "I know... about the futility of guilt," he admitted. "I know that it can't change a damn thing."

"If you know that, then you also have to know how impossibly hard it is to not be consumed by it…"

O'Malley shivered. Not because the night time drop in temperatures had cooled the inside of the cabin, but because he was no longer used to having conversations like this.

For the first time in years, his thoughts went back in time. To places he never wanted to revisit again. He'd sworn to himself a long time ago that he'd never allow anyone that close again. He wouldn't ever give in to the temptation. Not for anyone. Certainly not for this woman he barely knew, no matter how captivating she was. And he could admit that now. That she was. Captivating.

"Look," he straightened his back. "I don't have any answers for you, Anna…maybe you were right. You should have stayed up with Robin instead."

"You understand me better than you want to admit, don't you?"

She said it softly. Almost a whisper. As if she also knew that his admitting it was out of the question.

He didn't meet her eyes this time. Annoyed with both himself and her. For her ability to read him just as well as he read her. "Why don't I get you something for your headache?"

Anna closed her eyes and leaned back, into the sofa. "Sure…if that'll make you feel better."

The remark touched a nerve. It was also enough to make him turn around and give her an irritated glance.

"Look," she said softly, without opening her eyes. "I can barely handle my own guilt and the effect it has on me. God knows I haven't got the energy to try and tackle the walls you've built around yourself."

"Good," he mumbled to himself, pouring her a glass of water from the kitchen sink and taking a bottle of aspirin from the cabinet. 'Because I'm not going there,' he thought. 'Not now. Not ever.'

_Wildwind Estate, Pine Valley, PA_

Dimitri Marick sat in the study at Wildwind, about to light a cigar when Max came running into the room.

"Mum's phone is still turned off," his son pointed out.

Dimitri watched him wriggle onto his armrest. "She's probably out for dinner with Robin and Mac. That's why she turned her phone off. Or maybe they went to see a movie."

Max leaned against him, his head on his shoulder, holding the cordless phone in his hand as he dialed the number he knew by heart once more. "Here, listen…" Max held the receiver next to his father's ear. "It's still turned off."

Dimitri smiled. "I believed you." He checked the time on his Omega watch. "It's late Max. You've got school tomorrow." He nudged him, "Come on, head upstairs and wash up."

Max made no move to get off the armrest. "Mum always calls to say goodnight."

"Maybe she'll call tomorrow to say good morning instead."

"And what if she doesn't?"

"She will."

"But what if she doesn't?"

Dimitri looked at him, surprised at his tenacity. "Well…then we'll call her."

"But what if her phone's still turned off?"

Dimitri raised his eyebrows. God, he was persistent. He didn't get that from him. Or did he?

"We'll call Mac then or Shawn."

Max smiled, his familiar lopsided grin. "So let's do that _now._"

Persistent _and_ clever. Okay, maybe he did get that from him.

Dimitri shook his head. "No…if your Mom's phone is turned off, it means she doesn't _want_ us to bug her. If we call Mac or Shawn, it's only going to worry her. Besides, it's late and time for you to go to bed."

Max frowned, obviously disappointed that his persistence hadn't paid off.

"Trust me," Dimitri teased. "It _is_ possible to fall asleep without Mom saying goodnight."

Max wrinkled his nose at him. "Now you're making fun of me, Dad."

Dimitri laughed. "Guilty as charged. Come on, Max. You're a young man now. You don't want Maddie to tease you do you?"

Max leaned back against his chest and sighed. "Fine," he agreed. "But tomorrow, before breakfast…"

"Before breakfast what?"

"Mum," he repeated, exasperated. "We're going to call Mum!"

Dimitri gave him another push. "Sure. We'll call her tomorrow. Now go head upstairs. I'll come up when you're done and you can have two kisses from me instead."

Max looked at him and laughed. "No way, Dad."

Dimitri grinned as he watched him run out, making a second attempt to light his cigar. "I hope you're not staying out too late, darling," he mumbled. "Because there's a two-legged alarm clock ready to wake you at seven am tomorrow."

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario_

Lucy threw a large size pack of Marlboro's across the table into Joseph's hand. "Here, these are for you."

Joseph looked at her, shocked. "What's this? It's two months 'til Christmas."

"Do you want them or not?"

Joseph chuckled. Lucy had never given him anything. Not so much as a 'thank you' for letting her stay at his sister's house indefinitely. "Sure. I'll take them. What do you want in exchange?"

She rolled her eyes, as though appalled at what he was suggesting. "It's a gift for god's sake. That's all."

"A gift? Why? Did you win at Bingo last night?"

She grinned, with as much pleasure and contentment as he'd ever seen on her face. "Maybe I did."

Joseph gave her a skeptical glance and then stopped himself from another sarcastic comment. Maybe things were changing for her. Maybe she deserved a second chance. After all, who in the world wasn't angry and down on their luck at some point?

So, he bit his tongue. "Thanks."

Lucy pursed her lips and grinned. "You're welcome."

He watched her leave the kitchen, looking at the carton of cigarettes in front him. "Maybe there's hope for you after all, Lucy," he mumbled to no one.

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario_

Anna moved the rook down the board and raised her eyes at Shawn. "Check."

O'Malley moved his king accordingly and raised his eyes to meet hers. "Out of check."

Anna didn't take her gaze off him as she reached for the tall figurine on the chess board. She moved her black bishop and smiled. "Check mate."

Shawn O'Malley shook his head in disbelied, staring at the chessboard in front of him. "No way."

"Yes way."

"What can I say? I'm a gentleman, I had to let you win."

Anna laughed. "Really? Four times in a row? I'd say that goes beyond gentlemanly. Sacrifice like that is probably worthy of knighthood."

"_Sir_ O'Malley," he grinned, amused now. "Sounds good to me." He checked the time on his watch, "It's been almost eight hours. We should wake the others and take a break ourselves."

Anna frowned; remembering how tired both Robin and Alex, especially Alex, looked earlier. "No…let's let them sleep a little longer."

"We're getting tired, Anna. I don't want to risk us losing our focus."

Anna bit her lip. He sounded so much like Robert when he said things like that. He was obviously a consummate professional, who lived and breathed his occupation. Who wouldn't allow himself the slightest slip-up. "I don't know if Robin and Alex keeping watch together is such a great idea. I mean, given our backgrounds, wouldn't it make more sense to split the two of us up? That way we'd have a doctor awake at all times for Bart and…"

"…And a spy to shoot down whoever threatens us," he finished the sentence for her.

"It _would_ make more sense," she argued. 'And it would give me a chance to finally spend some time with my daughter,' she thought.

"Your sister's pretty quick with an automatic. You don't have to worry on that account," he assured her.

Anna cupped her chin in her hands, pensive. "Why would a neurologist be good with guns?"

"Just...trust me. She is."

Anna should've known he wouldn't tell her. He was as tight-lipped as he was efficient. But maybe if she prodded a little more she'd get a least a little in return. She was dying to know everything about Alex.

"Tell me about Alex…I don't know anything about my sister, Shawn. All I know is that she's a doctor and that she has a little boy named Max."

"Ah, Max," Shawn smiled at the mention of her sister's son. "Your sister's a lovely lady, Anna. What you get is what you see. But I can't answer your questions. You have to ask her yourself."

"_Can't_ or you _won't_ tell me?" she teased. "Are you under some professional oath? Do bodyguards have those too?"

Shawn said nothing, making an unsuccessfull effort to hide his amusement.

"She's obviously very wealthy," Anna went on, undeterred by his silence.

A smile played at the corner of his lips. "What makes you say that? The fact that she has a bodyguard? Am I such an expensive accessory?"

"I don't know. Are you?" Anna smirked. "I do know her jewellery is. I noticed the diamonds on her watch…they're Marick diamonds. Marick diamonds are the rarest, most expensive in the world, unattainably priced for most consumers. Her wedding band is spectacular too. It looks custom designed. The way the gold, platinum and diamonds are intertwined…seriously, it could be a museum piece."

He looked impressed. "How does someone who spent years living in the northern Ontario backwoods know so much about diamonds?"

Anna shrugged her shoulders. "I keep up with the news. Marick diamonds only recently put the Canadian diamond mining industry on the map. It's a well reported Canadian success story. You could also say that precious gems, objets d'art, and jewellery…they all used to be a passion of mine. Mind you, I was never too keen on diamonds…too hard, too difficult to turn into a piece of art. I always preferred jade. I'll even admit to having had a weakness for it..."

Shawn O'Malley didn't say anything and when his eyes met hers, Anna realized why she felt a twinge of disappointment the first time she saw him and automatically assumed he was her sister's husband. 'It's because your eyes are the colour of jade,' she thought, as she looked into them. 'They're a soft, warm, rich green.' They were a beautiful colour.

"Jades? Should I ask?"

Anna shook her head. "No. I guess, it's better you don't. Some things are better left in the past." She got up from the sofa, "I'm going to check on my little girl. It's been such a long time since I've seen her sleep." She bit her lip again, 'Except she's not a little girl anymore.'

O'Malley got up as well, stretching himself. "I'm going to see how Bart's doing."

Anna moved towards her room, slowly opening the wooden door. As she did, she heard the muffled sound of whispering voices.

There was a trace of frustration in her sister's voice, audible even as she tried to keep her voice down. "I can't believe you left most of the protocol at Joseph's place! What in the world were you thinking?"

"I was thinking we'd be back there by tomorrow night at the latest! Then I was going to take them to London from there. Why would I haul around my meds and subject them to the changes in temperature, if I didn't think I was going to need them?" she replied.

"One more day's worth? That's all you have on you?"

Anna couldn't hear Robin's answer, thinking perhaps a look into her eyes was all her sister needed to discern the truth. 'It used to be all I needed to do, to know whether you were telling me the truth or not. To take one look at you…' She felt guilty for listening in on their conversation, like a spy at the door.

Yet she could neither leave nor open the door fully and enter the room. She knew if she did it would stop their conversation dead.

"You know what that means, don't you? We have one day to get out of this mess."

"I'm not going to drop dead if I don't take the protocol for a day," Robin countered.

"Twenty four hours is all your body needs to develop an immunity to the drugs you're taking. It means you might have to start over with a new drug cocktail and there's no telling how effective that one will be. Not taking the protocol for a day is like playing Russian roulette with the virus…I won't let you do that, Robin."

Anna felt a chill run through her body as she listened to her sister's words. 'I won't let you either, my baby…I swear to god, I won't.'

"You're being unreasonable about this, Alex," Robin countered. "I could theoretically go for several days without it, before it starts to mess up my system."

"_I'm_ being unreasonable? You know better than I do how serious this is…once you run out of those pills, we _have_ to get out of here."

Anna felt the sting of tears in her eyes at the thought of their situation jeopardizing Robin's life. In more ways than one.

She heard her sister sigh. "You should tell your mom."

"No way, Alex. Don't you even think about telling her!"

"She has a right to know about the danger you're in…"

Her daughter's voice was fearful. "If you tell her, I'm scared of what she'll do. She'll insist on surrendering herself to Faison…"

"Robin…she's your mother!"

Her daughter's voice was faltering now. "I just found her, Alex. I can't lose my mom again."

Robin would face the consequences of taking a break from her drug cocktail, rather than risk losing her again.

Warm salty tears fell down Anna's cheeks, as she leaned against the wall. _How did my baby grow up to be so strong_? She could answer the question easily enough. _Because she had to be. Because you weren't there for her_. The voices echoed in her head, laden with guilt and regret, threatening to rip her heart out.

She moved away from the door. So they couldn't hear her cry.

Shawn O'Malley came out of Bart's room and saw Anna leaning against the wall.

She slid down onto the ground, her knees no longer able to support her.

Shawn kneeled down next to her, gently removing her hands from her mouth. "Hey…what is it?"

Anna shook her head. "It's my daughter, Robin…my baby's sick and I can't do anything to help her. I can't do a single damn thing…and I can't stand it!"

Shawn didn't say anything.

But he did put his arms around her, letting her cry.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter XXI**

_Wildwind Estate, Pine Valley, PA_

"Have you seen the Financial Times, Stella?" Dimitri asked the woman who had worked for him for nearly a decade. Usually she left the paper on the dresser in the hallway, because she knew he liked to read it over breakfast.

Stella gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Mr. Grey took the only copy on his way to work this morning. I could send James to fetch you another copy."

Dimitri shook his head. "No, don't worry about it. I'm going to go for a walk later anyway. I'll grab a copy then." Usually his first call every morning was to his Director of Operations at the Marick Mine, to get an overnight report on its activities. But since Alex had left for Port Charles with Robin, he had told his operation managers he'd be unreachable for the rest of the week."Contact me only in an absolute emergency," he had instructed them. For the first two days, it had been hard to resist picking up the phone and calling the mine first thing in the morning. It was a part of him now, his principal livelihood as well as his lifeblood. He could no longer imagine going more than two weeks without flying up there himself to make sure everything was working smoothly.

'It's not going to go down the drain if you don't meddle in it for a week,' he reminded himself, as he eyed the phone in the absence of holding the newspaper in his hand. 'Granted, the fact that Alex isn't here to distract me from it, isn't helping,' he thought. He smiled as he saw Max enter the dining room. 'At least the little bugger is here.'

"Hi, Dad," Max greeted him, slipping into a chair at the breakfast table.

"Morning, little Count." It was Alex's term of endearment for Max and it had grown on him.

Max held a cordless phone in his hands. "Mum's phone is still not turned on," he pointed out.

Dimitri got up to straighten the tie on his son's school uniform. "You're a mess," he told him, rebuttoning the top buttons on his shirt, reminding himself to comb Max's hair before he left the estate.

"Are you going to call Mac?" Max asked him, digging a fork into the two pancakes on his plate.

"Maybe your mom wants to sleep in today, if she stayed out late last night…" he started, trying to give her a few extra minutes of sleep. "Why are you so anxious to talk to her? She hasn't forgotten you, you know."

Max gave him a sheepish smile, his mouth full of pancakes and maple syrup. "I wanted to tell her I got an A on my math test yesterday…"

Dimitri grinned. "Hey, that's great! Why didn't you tell me?"

He knew the answer to the question even as he asked it. Max had grown up without him. It wasn't that his son didn't love him. In fact, Dimitri had been amazed at how easily and generously Max had let him into his life and into his heart. He'd been prepared for Max to be more distant. Difficult and resentful even, at having been devoid of a father for the first seven years of his life.

But Max had been neither. And sometimes Dimitri felt strangely undeserving of his son's love.

Dimitri could easily forgive him for not thinking of him as the first person he could confide in. Even as he wished it wasn't the case.

Max shrugged his shoulders. Apologetic. "I don't know…I don't know why I didn't think of telling you…"

Dimitri tousled his already messy hair and kissed the top of his son's head. "I'm proud of you."

Max blushed, saying nothing as he kept eating.

Dimitri picked the cordless phone off the table, dialling Alex's number. "Alright, let's wake her up." The phone immediately switched to the answering service, as it would have were it out of range or turned off.

Max stared at him. "Well? Is it on, finally?"

Dimitri shook his head. "She's probably still asleep."

"Then call Shawn…" Max prompted him.

"Are you sure you want to bug him so early in the morning?"

Max nodded, "Yup."

"If he gets angry at you for waking him up, I'm going to agree with him," Dimitri warned him. He was thankful that Max didn't know the number himself but he also knew that Shawn wouldn't muster even the slightest irritation, if he saw that it was Max who was making the call. His Director of Security had the patience of Job when it came to Max.

Max grinned, "He won't be angry. Shawn never gets angry."

As it did when he had called Alex's number, Shawn O'Malley's cell phone too went straight to voicemail. Dimitri frowned. O'Malley would never turn off his phone while on duty. He eyed Max as he left a message to return his call as soon as possible.

"Well?" Max inquired.

"Well what?"

"Was he there?"

"No. He wasn't."

"Why not?"

Dimitri put down the silver butter knife he was holding, not sure what to say. "I don't know."

Max's look told him the answer wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Then call Uncle Mac."

Dimitri glanced at his Omega watch, "It's getting late. You should head off to school soon."

"Call Uncle Mac first. Then I'll go."

There was a sense of urgency in his son's persistence that left Dimitri strangely unsettled. "I don't have his number," he admitted, not sure whether he should call the Port Charles Police to obtain it. 'Though the officers there might not think that the results of a grade three math test are sufficiently important to summon their Commissioner…'

"So I have to wait _again_?"

"Just until you come home from school," Dimitri explained.

"But what if the phone's _still_ turned off?" Max groaned. Patience was not his strong suit. _That _was a trait he could have easily inherited from either one of his parents.

"I promise Mom will call you when you get home."

"How do you know?"

"Have I lied to you yet?"

Max shook his head, finishing the last bite of his pancakes when he saw, Rajiv, another of Dimitri's bodyguards enter the room.

"Max, are you ready to go?" Rajiv usually drove him to school and back home again at the end of the day.

Max nodded reluctantly, disappointed.

"Love you, Max," Dimitri told him as he ran out the door, hearing him return his sentiments as he headed down the long corridor.

Dimitri picked up the cordless phone and dialled directory assistance, a frown of worry creasing his brow. The fact that O'Malley left his phone turned off was completely contrary to his staunch professionalism.

"Commissioner Malcolm Scorpio, Port Charles, New York, please," he instructed the operator.

"I'm sorry, sir. That number is not listed."

"Uh…could you give me the Port Charles Police headquarters then?"

The operator answered, "Here's the number…"

Dimitri wrote it down and then dialled it quick succession. "Yes, this is Dimitri Marick. I'd like to speak to the Commissioner, Mac Scorpio. It's regarding his niece, Robin." Dimitri knew Mac loved her like a daughter and that mentioning her name would ensure a quick response.

He was right. The line was picked up in seconds.

A voice with a hint of an Australian accent answered. "This is Mac."

"I'm sorry to bother you about this, but I've had some trouble reaching my wife and her guard. I wanted to call you in person to make sure everything's alright. Since they're staying with you."

Mac's answer sent a sudden chill down his spine.

"What do you mean they're not with you?"

_Near Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

Jan shivered as he poured himself a cup of luke warm coffee from the thermos bottle. Leila Moyo poked her head into the tent, watching him trying to warm himself up.

"There's a fire near our tent, you can heat that up over there," she suggested.

Going to the fire meant going outside, a task he was determined to prolong as long as possible. "No, thanks."

Jan hated camping. Even as a child when his parents had taken him and his little sister to the forested outskirts of Stockholm to spend long weekends sleeping under the stars, he had hated it. More than anything, he hated the inconvenience of camping. Outside, in nature, there was no running water, no one to serve him an espresso in the morning, no way to properly shave himself and no dry cleaners to adequately launder his Armani shirts. Camping was downright barbaric, he concluded, designed for animals, not for humans.

'And, up here, on top of it all, it's inhumanely cold,' he thought, rubbing his hands together. 'She better come out of that cabin soon, or else I'm going to drag her out myself.'

He saw Cesar Faison approach, behind the black woman. "What are you still doing here?" he asked him with disdain. "Michaud and Moyo need a break. I want us to keep watch on the cabin for the next six hours."

Jan nodded, "I'm almost ready."

Faison scowled. "Good."

When Jan finally stepped outside he noticed it had stopped snowing. "How long do you think, before she surrenders to us?" he asked his boss, staring at the log cabin in the distance.

"Anna's stubborn. She always has been," he told him. "But the old guy's injured, hopefully badly enough to make Anna realize her surrender to me is his only salvation. Even with Alexandra and little doctor Scorpio there, the cabin is hardly equipped to deal with a bullet wound injury."

"So how long do you think?" he repeated, hoping for an answer that ended in 'hours' rather than 'days'.

"A few days at the most. They'll start turning on each other by then, especially if Dimitri Marick is in there as well. The only thing he cares about is protecting his wife and the only thing Anna cares about is protecting Robin. That, combined with the wild card of an injured Bart, will ensure me that she's in my arms in a matter of days."

_Inside the cabin_

"Take a look," Alex told Robin. Lifting the blanket high enough so she could get a good view of the festering bullet wound in Bart's upper thigh.

Robin cringed, not wanting to say what she feared, in the event that Bart's hearing was better than Alex suspected. Her aunt had given him another two pills, allowing him a small respite from the pain and effectively knocking him into a semi-conscious state.

He moaned as Robin's hand brushed against his leg.

"If we have to…do you think we can try and remove it ourselves?"

"It's so deep, Robin…I don't even want to think about it, especially given the minimal equipment here, as well as a lack of any antibiotics." Alex re-opened the First Aid kit and began to change the dressing on his wound. Meanwhile, Robin checked his temperature with the oral thermometer, frowning again when she saw the results.

"His temperature's still high…" Robin looked at the thermometer. "39 degrees."

Alex adjusted her glasses to examine the wound once more. "That's not bad. It could be worse, given the state of the infection on his leg."

"You think he'll be fine for a little longer?"

Alex smiled a lop-sided smile. Max's smile. "I'll make sure he is."

"You're so cocky sometimes when it comes to medicine," Robin said with a smirk. "No wonder you get along so well with Hayward." She sighed as she sat down on Bart's bed. "Seriously, though. I envy you that confidence. I wonder if I'll ever have it."

"You will," Alex said without hesitation. "The way, I see it, if you doubt yourself, how can you expect your patients to trust you? You make them believe you, to the point where you believe it yourself. And when you're wrong it hurts twice as much because you've let down two people."

Robin wondered what exactly she meant, knowing that Alex had left her practice twice before meeting Dimitri. That the task of treating the terminally ill had simply become too much for her.

"What if he's not?" Robin questioned.

Alex ran a hand through her hair, "I don't want Anna to think he won't be. Just like you don't want her to know about your protocol. I don't want her to do something crazy on that account..." Alex stared at the barricaded window, as if suddenly lost in thought.

"What are you thinking?"

"Faison…"

"What about him?"

"He wants Anna. I look _exactly_ like Anna. What if we could convince him he's got Anna, when in fact, he doesn't. What if we could fool him just long enough for you to get away from here?"

Robin looked at her aghast, "Have you completely lost your mind?"

Alex frowned, frustrated. "Robin, we have to do _something_. Bart's in bad shape and I'm not letting you go for more than a day without the protocol. You've come this far, you're not going to let this virus threaten your life now!"

"We're not going to send you out to Faison in my mom's place. Don't even think about it. Plus, if you think for a moment my mom would go along with such a crazy idea, you don't know her at all."

"I suppose you're right. I _don't_ know her," Alex sighed as she leaned back in the sofa, "It is crazy, isn't it? This whole situation is crazy. And if we get out of it alive, Dimitri is going to kill me."

"We _are_ getting out of this alive, I swear to god, we are." Robin looked at the Colt semi lying on the table. "O'Malley said you should keep it on you, at all times…" Robin reminded her, wondering why Alex hadn't touched the weapon. "I don't know how to use that thing, I'm counting on you here."

"If someone comes crashing through that door, I promise it'll be in my hand in seconds."

Robin leaned against her aunt. "You know I love you, don't you? I don't know if I've ever told you...I just kind of assumed you knew. But I shouldn't..."

"Hey, it's okay." Alex put her an arm around her, "I know...I know you do."

"I don't want you facing Faison anymore than I want to see Mom do it, okay?" Robin was serious, wanting to make sure Alex knew.

Alex pulled her close. "I know...it's a dumb idea. I was grasping at straws...just like we're doing with Bart."

_Outside, in the living room_

Anna could see the two of them from the crack in the door that was left open.

She watched them in silence, grateful her daughter had found someone who obviously adored her. _She's an adult now...she really doesn't need you anymore. _

She gave them an awkward smile, when Robin's eyes spotted her. "Can I join you guys?"

Robin's eyes lit up at the sight of her. "Mom, I thought you were sleeping?"

"Shawn was snoring…he kept me awake."

Robin laughed knowing that was a lie. "If he was you'd have hit him or something."

Anna grinned. "Yeah, I would, wouldn't I?"

Alex got up. "I'm going to make some tea. Anyone like something else?"

"Coffee, for me," Anna told her.

Alex shook her head in mock disdain. "My sister is so American..."

Anna saw the gun lying on the table, picked it up, and put it in the back of her jeans. "She's so English."

Robin laughed. "You two are way more alike than you think."

"Tell me about her…I couldn't get much out of Shawn."

"I don't know what to say. Sometimes, I feel like I'm still getting to know her myself. You have to come to Wildwind when this is all over, Mom. You'd love Max…"

"The rascal, right?"

Robin smiled, "Yeah, that's a pretty good description."

"What about her husband? What's he like?"

Robin nodded. "I think you'd like Dimitri Marick too. He's impulsive. He acts with his heart and he loves Alex and Max to death."

"Dimitri Marick? Not _the_ Dimitri Marick?"

"Do you know him?" Robin asked.

"You mean as in Marick _Diamonds_?"

"That's the one."

Anna groaned. "Oh Shawn, I _am_ going to kill you…" She looked at Robin, trying to explain herself. "He sat there last night and listened to me go on about how I thought my sister must be very wealthy because of the Marick diamonds on her watch. You think he could have mentioned the fact that he works for the guy that owns them."

"It's weird, Shawn's usually pretty reserved. But you seem to have touched a nerve with him. "

"Lucky me…god, no wonder she has a bodyguard. Dimitri Marick must be a multi-billionaire."

"You wouldn't know it," Robin explained. "When I first met Alex, she was working at a London hospital."

"I can't believe I have a twin sister, Robin…and I still can't believe that you're sitting here next to me. Tell me about _you_, how have you been?"

It was an extraordinarily inadequate question.

How would Robin put fourteen years of lost time into words?

All Anna could think of was the conversation she'd overheard between her daughter and her sister. Of the fact that Robin didn't want to let her know that she was nearly out of the medication that was keeping her alive and healthy.

"I did okay, Mom."

"After your Dad and I…after we _died_… who looked after you?"

"Uncle Mac did. He practically adopted me and raised me, as though I was his own daughter."

"Robert's brother…" Anna could vaguely remember the handsome man with the Australian accent, whom Robert had at first despised and nearly killed.

"You remember a lot now, don't you?"

Anna nodded, "I do…I can't explain it, but it's so clear now."

"What about the headaches? Like the one you got when you first saw me? Alex thinks it might have been because you remembered too much all at once."

"Maybe...but it's better now," Anna assured her. In truth, she was doing what Alex told her to, seeing Robin for whom she was now. In the present. Not the little she'd left behind with her death. Seeing Robin as she was now pushed aside the guilt, frustration and regret that had accompanied her earlier memories. She couldn't block out visions of the past entirely but she was getting better at pushing them aside.

It meant that when memories were unavoidable they still brought on the now familiar pain beneath her skull, but it was a much more managable pain. For that Anna was grateful because it meant Robin didn't have to know about it.

"It's gone completely?" Robin pressed, not entirely convinced.

Anna nodded, "Yeah. It's fine now."

Alex interrupted their conversation when she came back into the room with three steaming mugs in her hand, handing Anna the first one.

"Coffee for you."

Anna took the mug. "You didn't ask me how I like it."

"I took a guess."

Anna raised her brows. "Are you a psychic too?"

"No…but I am your twin sister," she said with a smirk.

Anna took a sip. It was exactly how she liked it. "Wow...I'm impressed. Maybe there is something to this twin thing..."

Robin laughed. "Don't believe her. She asked me earlier."

Alex threw a decorative pillow at Robin. "Traitor."

Anna smiled reluctantly. It didn't seem possible that they could be joking. Not given their circumstances.

As if to prove her right , a familiar voice from a loudspeaker outside, suddenly, boomed into the cabin.

"_Anna, my love. I'm still outside waiting for you. I'll wait for a long time, Anna. As long as it takes…"_

The amusement vanished from all three of their faces and Robin's eyes widened in fear.

"Faison. Again."

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA_

_Andrassy Foundation Office_

David Hayward was in the middle of a phone call when he raised his eyes towards Dimitri Marick entering his office.

"I'm sorry...but I have an unexpected visitor, I'll have to call to you back." He hung up the phone and stared at the Dimitri, obviously annoyed that he'd barged in without so much as knocking. "Maybe 'uninvited' was the word I was looking for..."

Dimitri stared at him.

"Can I help you?" he probed, not hiding his irritation. "I know this is your wife's foundation but it's also a working office and most visitors are civil enough to knock before entering."

Dimitri knew that Alex whatever Hayward's fondness had for Alex didn't extend to him. He was fine with that. He didn't like the cardiologist anymore than he liked Dimitri. He'd always have a certain gratitude for him for helping Alex through Max's kidnapping last year, but that was all the goodwill he could muster.

"Do you know where Alex went?" There was no point in small talk.

David raised his brows. "She went to Port Charles with Robin. I'd like to think she would have told _you_ that."

"That_ is _what she told me but she's not there."

David finally gave Dimitri his full attention, "What do you mean she's not there?"

"I called Mac Scorpio and he said she wasn't there. In fact, he's had no call from her saying she ever planned to visit with Robin."

"It's been how long since she left now? Four days?"

"Just about…but the thing is I've talked to her twice since then. She called to tell me they were in Port Charles. Why would she lie about that?"

David shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it's something to do with that crazy Christmas get together that she wants to do at Wildwind. Maybe she flew off to Hungary to collect your relatives…"

"More than a month before Christmas?" Dimitri shook his head, staring into space, "I don't think so…why would she take Robin? That said, I did consider it, and I've called Vadsel. She's not there."

"What did Mac say?"

"I asked him to put out an APB on them, but he thought it was premature, since I'd spoken to her on the phone without thinking anything was wrong. He thought something along your lines, that she was planning to surprise me with God knows what…"

"Maybe she is…I wouldn't worry."

"I haven't been able to reach her or my Director of Security for the last twenty-four hours! Of course, I'm worried!"

"You sent one of your bodyguards along with them?" David asked, in semi-disbelief. "I bet Alex loved that idea."

"Listen," Dimitri sat down on Alex's chair, across from David, scowling. "Cesar Faison kidnapped Alex last year in London. He drugged her and then he escaped. As of now he's still at large and probably still obsessed with Alex because she happens to look like her dead twin sister! Can you blame me for being cautious?"

"But this bodyguard of yours, you can trust him, can't you?"

"Yes," Dimitri nodded. "Absolutely."

"In that case I still think you shouldn't worry. This is obviously something Alex has got up her sleeves to surprise you. She'll probably call you tonight."

Dimitri stared out the window, not feeling reassured in the least. "If you're in on this I'll personally strangle you."

David chuckled. "Oh no...she's kept me in the dark about this too."

"I came here because I thought you could help me...maybe tell me if there's something she talked about before leaving or maybe someone odd who came to see her at the office."

David ran a hand along the stubble on his chin, "Actually, come to think of it, there _was_ an odd guy here last week. An older man who insisted on seeing her alone."

Dimitri full attention was on Hayward now. "What did he want?"

"I don't know. Just to speak to Alex alone. He said it was important."

"Did she know him?"

"No...but she knew that he was one of Robin's patients."

Dimitri said nothing, wondering if that man might hold a clue.

"So what are you going to do?" David asked him.

Dimitri glanced down at his wife's desk and saw a handwritten note by Max. _I love you more Mom. Than anithing else on the earth._

'Me too,' he thought running his finger along the small piece of paper. He suddenly felt ill. Nauseous. It was a feeling that came out of nowhere, puzzling him. 'For those seven long years when I thought you were dead, I used to feel it when something was wrong, when you needed me most…'

"Please not that again," he whispered, forcing himself to shake off the ominous feeling. It was both a gift and curse. To sense when something terrible might harm the people he loved most in the world.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing…" Dimitri mumbled, getting up to leave the office. "Tomorrow…Mac Scorpio said if I don't hear from them today he's going to issue an APB as early as tomorrow morning."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter XXII**

_"Every breath you take  
Every move you make,  
Every game you play  
Every night you stay  
I'll be watching you"_

_Bart's cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada _

_24 hours later_

"Would you stop fidgeting for one minute? You're driving me crazy!" O'Malley finally snapped after watching Anna tap her fingernails against the coffee mug for the umpteenth time.

"This waiting in here is driving _me_ crazy," she told him, unaffected by his outburst. She put down her mug, got up from the sofa, and walked towards the barricaded window. "Not being able to see outside is driving me crazy too." She'd spent the last hour sitting in Bart's room, hoping her presence would bring him some sort of comfort, but the old man barely noticed she was there.

Shawn said nothing as he observed her restless energy. The eerie sound of wind howling whistled through the cabin, courtesy of the cracks in the wooden boards that covered the broken windows. As a result, in spite of the roaring fire, the inside temperature was too cold to be considered comfortable and both Anna and Shawn wore thick, wool sweaters over their turtlenecks.

"I still think we should try and head out to take them on…" she told him.

"So we can end up like Bart?"

Anna turned around ignoring the remark, rubbing her hands together in the cold. "If there are that many of them, they would have stormed us by now. The fact that they haven't tells me there are at most three or four of them. At least if we tried to take them on, we'd have a fighting chance. Right now, we're nothing but sitting ducks."

"You'd risk having someone shoot at your sister? Your _daughter_?"

"Robin and Alex wouldn't take them on. You and I would."

"You and me, against as many as four armed men? I don't know about you, but I think those are pretty lousy odds."

Anna frowned, frustrated. "Are you always this logical?"

He chuckled. "Relax, would you? Your pacing and fidgeting are exhausting me."

"You don't _look_ exhausted."

"Bart told me you have a black belt in something," he said, trying to change the subject.

Anna nodded, "Karate, yes. But it feels like a long time ago."

"Do you still practice katas?"

"Sometimes."

Katas were a martial arts dance; a series of structured movements combining blocks, punches and kicks that most practitioners of martial arts used to warm up their muscles before a round of sparring. In order to achieve a certain belt level, one had to learn each of these movements by heart. The katas became increasingly complicated as the student advanced towards a higher belt.

"Humour me then. Do some katas. It'll relax you."

"We're not supposed to be relaxed. We're supposed to be alert."

"Alert yes. High strung no."

"Alex and Robin are asleep. I don't want to wake them."

"The door is closed. They won't hear you."

She gave him a disbelieving glance, "Cesar Faison is outside. He wants my head on a platter, and you want me to practice martial arts? This is _nuts!_"

Shawn stood up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You are so tense. You haven't slept since we came here…what good are going to be to anyone if these guys do storm us?" he told her, his voice gentle. Normally her restlessness would have irritated him, but he found it surprisingly difficult to stay annoyed with her."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. None of us are. " He moved closer to her, putting his arm around her waist. "Close your eyes. Don't think about what's out there; what could be or what might be. Just think about the here and the now."

"I know…_focus_…" Anna sighed. "It's easier said than done." Still, she did as he told her and closed her eyes.

Shawn's hand still rested on her shoulder and he felt her breathing deepen, allowing her to focus. "Good," he whispered. "Keep breathing. Slowly. Deeply. Focus on nothing but each and every breath you take."

The remark made her laugh.

The sound of her laughter made Shawn smile. He hadn't realized how much he needed something to lighten his dark mood until he heard it.

"Isn't that the name of a song?"

"Focus," he chided her, glad that she couldn't see his smirk.

He was suddenly aware of just how close he was standing to her, and pulled away.

_Did he see a twinge of disappointment on her face, or was he imagining it?_

"Good," he told her when he saw her re-open her eyes, her body noticeably less tense. "Now do a kata."

"Which one?"

"You pick."

She nodded, taking off her sweater to reveal a form-fitting black turtleneck underneath. "Fine."

He watched her start the movements with the grace and flexibility of a dancer, recognizing the kata after the first few movements. _Kusanku kata_, an intricate and lengthy kata consisting of eighty-four movements that supposedly re-enacted an age-old nighttime battle.

She executed the movements beautifully, making up for any lack of brute strength with speed and precision. He smiled at her execution of a flawless back fist-front kick combination, thinking that she surely practiced more than she had let on.

'She's beautiful,' he realized. 'Not the kind of beautiful that makes heads turn when it enters a room, but the kind that forces you take a second glance. The kind of beautiful you never tire of...'

Shawn pressed his eyes shut, forcing the thought from his mind.

She finished it in just over a minute, as was the standard, slightly out of breath. "Satisfied?"

"You missed a twisted knife hand strike," he pointed out. "But...other than that, yeah, it was alright."

Anna narrowed her brows. "I did not."

"Sure you did. After the flying crescent kick block, there's a hand strike you left out."

Anna shook her head. "No way."

Shawn raised his hand in defence, amused at her irritation. "Hey…it's okay. You're allowed. It's a complicated kata and you've had amnesia for ten years."

"But you're wrong…there's no knife stance after that block."

He shook his head in disbelief. "God…are you always this stubborn? There's not a lot of things I'm dead certain about but this is one of them."

"I'm only stubborn when I'm right."

He said nothing as he stood up next to her, slowly starting the movements of the kata himself, repeating them with ease. He didn't have to think about them. They came naturally. Muscle memory from the countless times he'd practised them at the Wildwind gym.

From the corner of his eyes he could see Anna watching him. Normally he didn't like practising in front of others, but there was no awkwardness at the thought of her eyes trained on him. They were professionals judging each other. Nothing more.

Anna raised her hands in good-natured defeat when he was done. "Oh fine. You're right. I'm wrong…"

O'Malley laughed at the unexpected ease with which she admitted it. "Do it again."

"You're kidding." Anna gritted her teeth. When she saw that he wasn't, she decided she was unwilling to cave just yet and started the movements again.

Just as she moved from a front kick to a backhand block, she caught a glimpse of his green eyes following her movements. The combination of their cramped quarters and her sudden lack of focus caused her to bump into the edge of the living room table, making her lose her balance.

Were it not for O'Malley's quick reaction she would have landed on the floor with a thud. Instead, he caught a hold of her hands and slowed her fall, the force of her weight making him lose his own balance and he fell down after her.

Anna cringed, convinced his entire weight was about to come crashing down on top of her.

O'Malley laughed as he watched her expression, using his arms to stop himself from colliding with her. She was lying on her back; her eyes closed, waiting for the collision.

She opened her eyes when she heard the sound of his laughter, "What's so funny?"

"You are… thinking I'm going to crush you to death."

She used his amusement to her advantage, tackling his elbows to push him over, reversing their positions so that she was the one hovering over him now, her arms outstretched.

The move had the opposite effect on him. Instead of making him angry, it made him grin. "Not bad," he said, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Two can play this game…" she whispered, the effort to push him over left her breathless and O'Malley could have sworn he saw her breath. _Was it that cold in here?_ Her long hair fell past her shoulders, touching his face.

He laughed, using his hands to push hers aside, making her lose her balance, and reversing their positions once more, with her lying on her back, on the floor again. "What if we don't play fair?"

She grimaced, obviously annoyed at how he easily he outmanoeuvred her. Obviously not accustomed to losing in a fight. "I always play fair..." she countered.

Her back arched to align itself with his body, and when it did, Shawn suddenly felt a desire so strong it rattled him.

Anna didn't see the unexpected look of fear in his eyes.

All she saw was the desire and in response, she acted on instinct. She moved her hands around his neck, using them to pull herself up to meet her lips with his.

She kissed him. A deep, warm kiss, full of a hunger that seem to take her aback.

If he had hesitated for a second, maybe she would have stopped as quickly as she started.

But he didn't.

Instead, he returned the kiss with an intensity that rivalled hers. For that one brief moment, he ignored the voice of reason and heeded only his desire.

Shawn O'Malley was a simple man, with few needs and wants. But he _wanted_ to kiss her, as much as he could envision wanting anything just then. So he did, with a fierceness that made her gasp before he pushed himself away from her.

"I…" he started, at a loss of words, but Anna cut him off.

"I'm sorry…" she blurted out, running a finger over her lips. "That was my fault, I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what came over me…"

"It's okay…" he said softly. He was lying next to her now, both of their backs on the wooden floor, staring at the wooden ceiling, breathing heavily.

"No…it's not," she tried to explain. Her expression betrayed her awkwardness. Her embarrassment. "What if Robin has seen us?"Anna cringed at the thought. "People do things when they're in danger…things they wouldn't do otherwise. You look at things differently…there's an adrenaline rush."

"Sometimes they just do the things they otherwise wouldn't have the guts to do," he told her. "It's how I met my wife…we were both on an assignment for the Secret Service…"

"Oh god..." Anna bit her lip at his words. "You're married. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I was. I'm not anymore."

"I'm sorry." She cringed again. "It's all I seem to say lately...it's becoming my catch phrase."

Shawn wasn't sorry. "Lauren died a long time ago. She was killed by a drunk driver on the way home from a grocery store." He hadn't mentioned her name to anyone in years.

"Oh Shawn, I'm so sorry..."

"Lauren had been at home all day that day and I'd just come home from work. I had this craving for ice cream and we didn't have any at home. But I was dead tired and didn't feel like leaving the house anymore. She offered to get some and I remember her joking, that it was on the one condition that I wouldn't laugh if she ate hers with a dill pickle…"

Anna said nothing, as his voice choked.

"I told her...don't be ridiculous, I didn't have to have ice-cream. But she said it was no big deal, that she didn't mind. That she wanted to get out of the house anyway. That she'd been feeling restless from staying at home all day. So she took the car…"

It was the first time he'd told anyone about that day. He didn't know why he was telling Anna this now, of all times. He just knew he needed to. As much as he'd needed to kiss her.

Shawn paused and silence engulfed them. He couldn't stand it. So he went on.

"An hour later I got a call from the police…she was seven months pregnant when she died."

Anna wiped away his tears with her hand.

He turned to face her, suddenly angry. "I know about guilt, Anna."

"It wasn't your fault."

How long had it been since he had spoken her name? How many _years_?

After her death, his friends and his employers had been more than supportive.

They'd given him the requisite time off, made him attend the obligatory grief therapy sessions with the best psychiatrists on staff and offered him whatever he needed; emotionally, physically and financially. Being who he was, he'd gratefully accepted it all, patiently biding his time until their concerned glances stopped. Until their conversations wouldn't stop dead in their tracks anymore everytime he entered a room.

After Lauren died, he dove into his work because it was the only thing he had left. He was good at what he did, and he knew it. He rose through the ranks of the Service quickly. And then he left it just as quickly, when he realized it no longer challenged him. When he realized that everything about it reminded him of Lauren too much.

"So you're going to protect the rich and famous, are you?" his colleague had asked him on his last day. "They're going to work you to the bone, twenty four seven. They think once they pay you a six-figure salary, they own you. They expect you to be their shadow. They want you to hold their hands when they use the bathroom, cause they're afraid someone might've rigged the toilet seat."

"Fine by me. It's what I want to do, something that's more than just a job," Shawn had answered him casually, holding a, tall, dark ale in his hand.

"You haven't taken more than a day off since Lauren died. Jesus Christ, Shawn, you can't just work until you keel over. You'll go insane."

Shawn had laughed. "Now tell me what you really think."

"It's been four years, buddy. We all loved her, Shawn…she was one of us, we all mourned her."

He'd turned serious again. "She wasn't just my partner. She was my wife."

"Closure…isn't that what they call it? You've got to live again. Not just work like a zombie."

Shawn had stared into his beer. "That's what the shrinks said too. Except they used bigger words."

His colleague had frowned. "Did you ever think maybe they were right?"

"Sure. I bet they were. I'll get over her when I'm ready. I'm just not ready yet."

"There's a new club down on Lancaster Street, they say they've got the best girls in town," his friend had grinned. "How about we check it out? It's your last day…it'll be on me."

Shawn had hoisted his glass in a toast, "Thanks buddy…but I've got an early flight to London tomorrow. My first client's a Saudi sheikh and I don't think he'd be too impressed if I show up hung over. Muslims and alcohol and all…"

"To hell with it…" his colleague had tempted him.

"Sorry. But thanks." He'd put down his half empty glass, getting ready to leave.

Later, when he sat in his pick-up truck, staring into the half-full parking lot, he thought of what his friend had said. '_Closure_,' he thought sadly. 'You were my life. You and that baby girl. I'll have closure when I die.' Had the drunk driver who killed her not died instantly that day, O'Malley would've killed him with his own two hands, without a moment's hesitation. And even _that_ wouldn't have brought him any closer to closure then he was now.

"It wasn't your fault," he heard Anna repeat, bringing him back to the present. Anna was feisty, but her voice was surprisingly soft. A rich, English lilt that would warm the harshest Canadian winter.

"It _was_ my fault," he told her. "I wanted ice cream. She went to get it. And because she did, she died."

_Why am I telling you this? I barely know you. Why is it that__ I suddenly feel that I can tell someone and not lose myself in the process?_

"To this day, I haven't been able to eat ice cream," he told her, knowing he was rambling now. "Sometimes it makes me sick to see someone walking down the street with an ice cream cone. Physically ill… even if it's just a child." He turned towards Anna, "My daughter didn't die right away…at the hospital, they tried to save her, after Lauren died. She lived for about thirty minutes."

Anna's face was unreadable. If she wanted him to stop, if she couldn't stand to hear anymore, then she wasn't letting it show.

"I was a father for half an hour, Anna…" his voice was little more than a whisper. "Thirty minutes…give or take a few seconds. She would've been about Robin's age now."

Anna closed her eyes as they filled with tears.

She was crying for him, and he ran his finger along her cheeks, following the path of her tears. "I'm sorry…I don't know why I told you all that. I've never told anyone."

"I know why…" she said softly. "Because you know I understand." She cupped his hand with hers and held it against her face.

Shawn said nothing as he stared sideways at the flames in the fireplace, while lying on the wooden floor. It felt strange to talk about Lauren, after all this time. It left him drained. Drained, empty and shockingly light. It was as though someone had lifted something unbearably heavy off his shoulders. Something that had been there for years. Something that he thought would never leave him.

_Closure_. He neither wanted it nor believed in it. And yet, for the first time, he could start to feel it.

Anna's words, echoed in his mind. _Because you know I understand._

'I pray to God, you don't understand, Anna. Because no one should feel like I've felt. No one.'

She still held his hand in hers, in silence, and he felt the wet warmth of her tears against it.

'No one,' he thought, grateful for her presence. Grateful for what she'd allowed him to say aloud for the very first time.

_Wildwind Estate, Pine Valley, PA_

_The next day_

Dimitri Marick sat in the study, rubbing his eyes.

He hadn't slept all night, trying to contact both Alex and Shawn on their respective phones, once every hour.

'This is crazy,' he thought, trying to make sense of things once more.

Alex had left Pine Valley willingly, seemingly happy about spending time with Robin and Mac in Port Charles. 'And then she phoned me twice, telling me she _was_ in Port Charles. That everything was fine and they were having a good time with Mac Scorpio.'

There was nothing in her tone of voice to suggest any sort of foul play. Dimitri knew her so well, and he was certain without a doubt that if she _had_ been in some sort of distress, he'd have known. 'I'd have _sensed_ it...I always have,' he reminded himself, as crazy as _that_ sounded. Because now he _did_ sense that something was very wrong.

'You lied to me when you called, Alex. Why in the world did you lie to me about being in Port Charles?'

He ran a hand along his chin, feeling the rough ends of his unshaven stubble. 'And what about Shawn? How in the world does he figure into this?' He trusted Shawn O'Malley implicitly and now he was questioning that trust. 'You went through hell and high water with Alex and me last year when Max was kidnapped. You agreed to storm Charlotte Devane's fortress to get my son back. You didn't care that it was a high risk, illegal operation that could have landed you in prison for the rest of your life.' It was also an operation he'd never have been able to pull off without O'Malley's help and contacts. 'You know I killed Charlotte in cold blood and you've never breathed a word about it to anyone.'

For all intents and purposes, it was a murder for which Dimitri should have been tried and prosecuted. Yet, Shawn O'Malley had kept it between them, never once mentioning it after they returned to the States.

Alex trusted him completely and Max adored him.

'Could O'Malley really have something to do with this?'

Dimitri forced himself contemplate the idea, even if his instincts told him it was crazy. Last year, Max had been kidnapped because one of his bodyguards had betrayed him for money. 'This isn't just a body guard,' he reminded himself. 'This is _Shawn_.'

Dimitri stared at the photograph that sat on the mantle of the fireplace. It was one of his favourites, a photo of Max and Alex, his son's arms were around his mother's neck, and both of them were laughing in the sunshine. Dimitri had taken it two summers ago, after they had gone riding together on the estate. It was a simple snapshot, not worthy of being framed. But he'd framed and enlarged it anyway. It was a photo that was more alive than most of the portraits that hung in the corridors of Wildwind.

'What am I going to tell Max today?' he thought darkly.

Everything was coming together. The strange, dark premonitions he'd been feeling for almost two weeks were now coupled with the more immediate fear that Alex needed him and that there was nothing he could do to help her.  
"I should never have let you go," he mumbled aloud. The thought made him smile. "Who am I kidding? As if I could have stopped you?" Alex had a stubborn streak he both loved and loathed. When she first treated him as his physician, it was probably the one thing that had kept him alive and when she became his wife, it was probably the one thing that caused the most arguments between them.

The sound of the phone ringing suddenly jolted him from his thoughts. He jumped to answer it.

"Hello…?"

It was Mac Scorpio and he sounded serious. He told Dimitri that he'd put out the APB on Alex, Robin and O'Malley as he said he would. Dimitri knew that if anything had happened to Robin, Mac Scorpio would lose it. Robin was like a daughter to him. As she was to Dimitri.

"We've traced Alex's Mercedes," he told him.

Dimitri's heart skipped a beat. "You have?"

"The car crossed the border into Canada four days ago, at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan."

"Canada? Why in the world would she drive to Canada?" Dimitri knew that Port Charles wasn't far from Buffalo and he could imagine Robin suggesting a day trip to Niagara Falls, to show them to her aunt for the first time, but Sault Ste. Marie was nowhere near Buffalo. Instead of clarifying things, Mac's information only confused him further.

Before Dimitri had a chance to question him, Mac continued. "Canadian border officials have no record of stopping her car, which isn't unusual. Most vehicles are waved through the border but every license plate is electronically scanned, for tracking purposes," he explained.

"Was there any record then, of the car returning to the States?" Dimitri asked him.

"No."

"So she's still in Canada?"

"Her vehicle is…" Mac corrected him. "I need to know if you know anything that might have made Alex go to northern Ontario without telling you. I need you to consider anyone and anything. For instance...does she have any friends, colleagues or relatives there? Any work related business that she might have casually mentioned?"

Dimitri shook his head, "No…no. Nothing that I can think of. But what about Robin, maybe she has someone there?" Dimitri suggested.

"I've already checked that and haven't found anything." There was a pause on the other end and Dimitri wondered what Mac was thinking. He wouldn't be surprised if Mac hadn't slept last night either. "I've also traced all credit card transactions made by Alex, Robin and this bodyguard of yours, Shawn O'Malley. The last thing we found was a purchase for fuel three days ago, at a gas station outside of a town called Batchawana Bay. That tells me they were heading west on the Trans-Canada highway. The purchase was made by your wife's Amex. Her signature matched the credit slip receipt."

"They were travelling west?" West meant even further away from Pine Valley.

"That's what it looks like. There's really only one main road up there and that's the Trans-Canada highway. All other roads are basically dead ends to smaller settlements. Northern Ontario is sparsely populated."

"You said the credit card transaction was made three days ago? What about since then?"

"Nothing."

"So that means she didn't go much further from that town, right?"

"Either that or she paid cash for additional gas."

Dimitri sighed, not knowing what to say. It certainly wasn't the news he had expected. _Then again, what did he expect?_

"It's all we have for now," Mac told him. "But it's something and I wanted to share it with you. I've contacted the Ontario Provincial Police, as well as the RCMP. I've also been in touch with the PVPD and I want to look into some possible leads from that end also. If anything springs to mind, no matter how trivial, I want you to give me a call, do you understand?"

"Of course."

"If anything happens to Robin…I swear…" Mac started, his tone of voice ice cold now.

"Alex wouldn't let anything happen to her, you have to know that."

"I raised that girl."

Dimitri nodded. "I know...Alex and I, we all love her, Mac, you know that!"

"Good."

Mac Scorpio hung up the phone without another word.

Dimitri too put the phone down and thought about what Mac said.

Her car had crossed the border three days ago. Alex had phoned him three days ago. He'd spoken with her then.

"She would have already had to be in Canada, when she called. And yet she told me she was in Port Charles with Robin. " Dimitri ran a hand over his face, more puzzled and worried now than he was before Mac's call. Nothing made any sense. "Damn it Alex, what the hell is going on? Why did you lie to me?"

He tried to think back to the night before she left. To try and remember something she might have said that would give him a clue.

He remembered going out for an evening stroll on the grounds.

'_The most beautiful place in the world is right here, in your arms.'_

Dimitri checked the time on his Omega watch, carefully removing it from his wrist. He ran his thumb over the inscription on the back. _'All love for all time. A.'_

He still remembered the day he'd first held the watch in his hands. The day he had first seen his son.

Max had been seven years old then. It was his first time in America and his English accent was heavier than it was now. He had worn a blue backpack and he'd been tired and jetlagged.

In a careful plan, Alex had sent Max to him, to protect her son from the clutches of Charlotte Devane, even though she knew she was jeopardizing her own life in the process. She'd given Max a few photographs, a handwritten letter and the watch that he now held in his hands. Things that were meant to prove what Dimitri had known in his heart all along; that Alex didn't die the night of Ryan Lavery's party.

Not only did she not die, she'd been pregnant with his son.

_I took Max back to Wales to search for you, and if I hadn't found you when I did, you wouldn't be here with me today._

He remembered entering the cottage in Wales where Alex had lived with Max.

Dimitri had walked through the door just as one of Charlotte's henchmen, Justin Black, plunged a knife into Alex's chest. He'd already stabbed her before and she was barely conscious when Dimitri had found her. He shot Justin on the spot. Then he remembered picking up Alex and carrying her out of to his car, in a desperate effort to keep her alive. To get her to a hospital.

He could still see the blood she'd been covered in.

It was an image that would always haunt him. A gruesome, unshakeable memory that made him shudder each time he saw it.

'It was the first time I held you in my arms after seven long years and you were barely alive…'

The effects of that horrific attack would linger long afterwards. There were permanent physical scars, countless nightmares and the anemia that Alex would have to deal with for the rest of her life.

It also left Dimitri with irrational fear of losing her again. It was a constant, tangible fear that he could never quite shake. It also made him unbearably overprotective sometimes.

_A love for all time._

God, he loved her so much.

"Stop this self indulgent pity, right now," he mumbled aloud. "_Think!_"

He suddenly remembered what David Hayward said yesterday. "_Actually there was an odd guy here last week. An older man who insisted on seeing Alex. Alone."_

Maybe it was nothing. But it didn't matter. It was better than sitting here and letting himself be consumed by his fears. Dimitri put his watch back on and headed out the door, to visit David Hayward once more.

_'Every Breath you Take'-lyrics written by The Police_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter XXIII**

_Bart's cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Hi sweetheart, mind if I join you?" Anna saw Robin seated on a chair at their wooden table, next to the fireplace. She had three containers of medication in front of her, which she quickly stashed into her backpack, as soon as Anna sat down.

_Because you don't want me to see that they're almost empty._

"Sure, Mom."

"Don't you get tired of taking so much medication every day?" she asked her softly.

Robin shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have a choice really…after a while it becomes routine. You just accept it."

"You shouldn't have to accept _that_,' Anna thought regretfully. "Doesn't it make you feel sick?"

Robin shrugged again. "Sometimes…I feel nauseous, sick to my stomach, but overall I've been lucky. I haven't had a lot of side effects." She must have noticed Anna's worried glance. "Don't look at me like that, Mom. The last thing I want is for you to feel sorry for me. I'm one of the lucky ones. There's so many people with HIV that would kill to have access to these drugs."

"I don't think I could I do that…take so many pills. Every day."

Robin smiled. "Sure you would. If you knew that's what it took to keep you alive, you would. I mean, you get these terrible headaches, I ask myself how do you stand that?"

Anna shook her head, "That's different."

"Not really. You cope because you don't have any other choice. I have to deal with my HIV because my only other option is to crawl into a hole and die."

Anna was rattled by her daughter's bluntness. _My little girl grew up so fast. She's become so strong. _She stared at Robin, unable to get enough of looking at her. As much as she relished the sight of her daughter, she still hadn't entirely mastered the art of blocking out the memories, and ensuing guilt and regret, that came with it. Her head started to hurt. "What happens when you don't take your pills for a day or more?"

Robin averted her mother's inquisitive eyes. "It's not something I've thought about because I know it won't happen."

"But what if it does?"

Robin stared into her mug of tea. "Why are you asking me that? I have more than enough meds on me, Mom."

"Do you?" Anna wanted so much for Robin to tell her the truth, of her own free volition.

"Of course I do," she replied, defensive.

'You could never lie to me when you were a little girl,' Anna thought, watching the way her daughter couldn't quite meet her eyes. 'And you're still not very good at it.'

Anna squeezed Robin's hand. "Good. I'm glad." In truth, she hated what her daughter was doing. 'You're not supposed to protect me. I'm the one who should protect you.' Still, she didn't have the heart to tell Robin what she knew. It would only upset her.

Anna held on to Robin's hand, observing Shawn who was seated on the sofa, reading a book. "Where's Alex? Is she still sleeping?"

Robin nodded, "Yeah…she was exhausted. I didn't want to wake her."

"Is she alright?" Anna asked her.

"Sure…why?"

Anna shrugged, "I don't know…she just seems so tired. I mean, I know this crazy situation is enough to exhaust anyone but I don't know…"

"She has anemia, it means she gets tired easily. She's fine though. Alex is tougher than she looks."

"I hope so," Anna mumbled, not entirely convinced. 'If she _was_ ill you probably wouldn't tell me _that_ either.' She hated the thought of them all trying to protect her. '_Me_. The one person who got everyone into this mess.'

"Robin…will you come here for a sec?" they heard Alex calling from Bart's room.

Robin glanced at her mother, surprised to hear her aunt's voice. "I guess she's not asleep after all."

After Robin left, Shawn put down his book and moved to sit down next to Anna.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Nothing. Everything. Actually, I was thinking about Wappie." She met his eyes, "From the day he first saw me, that dog was my friend. He was loyal and gentle and wonderful. Then he was gunned down in cold blood. Because of me."

"Anna…" Shawn frowned when he saw where she was going.

"It's the truth, Shawn. It's also what happens to the people in my life. The people I care about. They die."

"You're being ridiculous, this isn't your fault. None of it is. It's not your fault that some madman decided to make you the object of his obsession."

"I don't need your reassurances, Shawn…I need your help."

He gave her a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

Anna lowered her head into her hands. Her head was still pounding, even though Robin was no longer in the room.

Shawn watched her, massaging her shoulders, when he saw that neither Alex nor Robin could see him. "Your pain and guilt go hand in hand, don't they?" he said softly. "Remember, what I told you before? Focus, and let go of the guilt, Anna. It's not going to change anything."

Anna's eyes met his. "By protecting me and not letting me face my enemies you're not giving me a _chance_ to change anything!"

"Surrendering yourself to Faison won't change anything. That much I can tell you."

"Robin's going to be out of her medication by tonight," she whispered.

Shawn's eyes widened. "Did she tell you that?"

"No. I overheard her talking with Alex."

"Did you ask Robin about it?"

"I did," Anna nodded. "But she won't tell me the truth."

"Because she knows what you might do, if you knew…"

"She's right! I'm not letting her risk her life, Shawn."

"I won't let you run out into Faison's trap."

Anna turned to him, angry and determined all at once. "Just try and stop me from protecting my baby. _Try_."

_Bart's Room_

Robin frowned when she saw what Alex wanted show her.

"This is bad," she said quietly. Bart was in a feverish daze and he no longer recognized them.

Alex's expression was sombre as she sat down on the bed, next to him. "If we don't get him to a hospital within the next twenty-four hours, we could lose him, Robin."

"I know you said it would be risky…but can't we _try _and remove the bullet?"

"We can't play Russian roulette with his life, Robin. The infection's far too advanced. There's no way I want to attempt it without antibiotics on hand."

Robin frowned. She'd known it would come to this, but her mind she kept hoping against hope, that their situation might have changed when it did. That a commando of Canadian police officers would have magically appeared at their door by now.

"What in the world are we going to do, Alex?"

Her aunt shook her head in resignation, "I don't know, Robin. We've done all we can for him, we've tried to keep him hydrated, his pain to a minimum, to keep the wound clean... but it's not enough. He's got to have the bullet removed."

"Than we _have_ to do it!"

"No." Alex shook her head, "I won't risk it."

Robin gave her an exasperated look. "We have to, Alex. There's no other choice."

"Yes…there is. We can try to take on Faison and his men. And get Bart out of here."

"If we do that…Faison's going to try to take my mother. You know he won't stop at anything to get her…"

"Don't underestimate your mom, Robin. If it comes to a showdown between Faison and Anna, my money's on your mother."

"Don't let it come to that, Alex. Please…" Robin pleaded. "Don't tell her about Bart."

"Robin…" Alex sighed. "She has a right to know…just like she has a right to know that you're out of the protocol tomorrow and effectively risking your life with every hour that you don't take it!"

"Stop it, Alex!"

"We have to give Shawn and your mother a chance to come up with a viable plan for getting out of here…to let them know how things stand for Bart."

"Twenty-four hours, you said he should be fine for another twenty- four hours! Please let's wait that long. Joseph will come looking for us by then."

'Twenty four hours is a ballpark figure, Robin, you know that!" Alex raised her hands in exasperation.

Robin glared at her. _How was it possible that Alex didn't understand?_ "I just found my mom. I can't lose her…not again."

Alex sighed in resignation.

Maybe her aunt did understand, even though understanding wasn't enough reason for her. "Robin, sweetie, Bart's going to die if we don't get him to a hospital. Are you listening to me when I tell you that? _He's going to die_. As a physician that has to be your first concern..."

Robin nodded, "I heard you." She knew about death and dying. More than she ever wanted to know. "Twenty-four hours, Alex. Please…I'm begging you."

Alex ran a hand over her forehead and gave her niece a weary look. "Fine. Twenty-four hours. After that, we _have_ to do something."

_Outside the cabin_

Gilles Michaud had enough. His lips were blue and he'd all but lost every sensation in his outer extremities. In addition to that, he was hungry and tired and in desperate need of a shower.

"If she doesn't come out tonight, I'm going in to the cabin to get her myself," he confided to his partner, Leila Moyo. "I can't take this anymore." In spite of the thermal outerwear that covered every square inch of his exposed skin, his teeth chattered in the cold.

"Pull yourself together," the black woman admonished him, keeping her gaze focused on the log cabin ahead. Like Faison, she, too, seemed immune to the cold and carried out her tasks as though it wasn't several degrees below zero. "You shouldn't be here, on my side. They could be making their way out of the cabin on the other side."

Michaud managed a cynical sneer. "Oh yeah…and where the hell are they going to go? We took their boat, remember?"

"The forest maybe?" she replied, her voice laden with disdain. "I have a feeling they might be better equipped at surviving out there than _you_ are."

Michaud was about to give her a snide remark of his own, when he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching.

"Why are the two of you both at this end?" Cesar Faison demanded. "Who's keeping an eye on the south-east corner of the cabin?"

"He is," Moyo told him. "Agent Michaud heard a noise and came to see whether I was alright."

The fact that she covered for him surprised the Frenchman and he quietly made his way back to the other side.

Faison eyed her, not believing her for one moment. 'If Michaud heard a noise, he probably would've run in the other direction…' Even so, both her loyalty and her endurance had garnered his reluctant admiration. 'You've just proven once again why women are truly the stronger sex,' he thought. What was that saying, '_If men had to give birth, the human race would have become extinct a long time ago_'?

"How is he holding up?" asked her, his tone letting her know he was expecting an honest answer.

"Not well, sir."

Faison nodded. "I see…" he ran a gloved hand along his chin. "We're running out of supplies and it's getting colder," he admitted.

Moyo said nothing.

"Both Michaud and my assistant are losing their focus and expending all their energy to stay warm," he conceded. He was certain now that he was going to fire Michaud. The man was useless, a parasite whose skills were a dime a dozen. At first he'd considered flying him back to France but now he decided, once he had Anna, he would simply leave him at the nearest settlement and pay him cash for his services.

Jan was another matter. The Swede had been his right hand man for too long not to indulge him certain failings, as much as Faison loathed weakness. His assistant simply wasn't cut out for the rigours of nature. Yet, Faison knew Jan would redeem himself once they returned to Europe. He was no Michaud.

Faison lit a cigar, staring at Moyo. 'However, I now know just how valuable _you_ are,' he realized.

"If Anna doesn't come out within the next twenty-four hours, we're going to storm the cabin. We can't stay here any longer."

"I understand, sir."

"It'll be risky, because the four of them are as well trained and armed as the four of us."

"I'm not afraid."

"Good," Faison nodded, pleased with her answer. It was just the kind of answer he would have expected from Anna. She'd never feared for herself, only for Robin and Robert.

"It's what I admire about you, sir." Moyo told him. "You don't stop until you get what you want."

Faison smiled, watching his breath in front of him as he exhaled in the crisp, cold air. "You're right, I don't. And I've never wanted anything as much as I want Anna."

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA _

_Andrassy Foundation Office_

"Can you just _try_ and remember him?" Dimitri insisted. "Make an effort for Alex's sake, would you?"

David sighed.

As he'd done the day before, Dimitri Marick had simply stormed into his office, forcing two visiting physicians to end their meeting with Hayward then and there. Dimitri couldn't really blame him for his irritation.

"Look, I told you everything I know. He was just an old guy, maybe 5'8? He had white hair and he wore a brown, outdoorsy jacket."

"Was there anything that stood out? Did he have an accent? Did he wear glasses? Was there something about the way he walked?"

"For God's sake Dimitri, you're grasping at straws!" David told him, exasperated. "You have no idea this guy has anything at all to do with the fact that you can't reach Alex."

Dimitri leaned against his wife's desk, running a hand along his chin, ignoring Hayward's outburst. "I have a gut feeling, that he's got something to do with this."

"A feeling…I see," David mumbled, as if knowing where this was headed.

"I don't care what you think," Dimitri replied brusquely. It was the truth. Edmund had doubted his unrelenting premonitions when Alex was presumed dead. Alex herself merely humoured them and he certainly didn't expect David Hayward, of all people, to take them seriously.

All that mattered was that _he_ believed them. He respected them for what they were.

"You have video surveillance in the hallways of the hospital, don't you?" Dimitri asked him.

"Yeah, there are cameras."

"So there has to be a record of this guy coming to the office last week."

David agreed. "Sure…somewhere in the security offices of the hospital."

Dimitri's mind reeled. "And if he was in here, he had to have left some prints somewhere..."

"Fingerprints are only good if he has a criminal record, you know that, don't you?" David tried to reason.

Dimitri ignored him, picking up his cell phone to dial the one person he knew would authorize a search through the hospital's security camera records faster than anyone else.

"Mac? It's Dimitri…I think I might be on to something, but I need your help..."

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario _

_Nighttime_

Anna waited patiently until Shawn finally got up to use the bathroom.

When he did, she walked over to where the two hunting rifles rested against the wall. She grabbed them and silently shoved them underneath the sofa. She hoped Shawn wouldn't notice their absence right away.

Her heart pounded and Anna could have sworn it was louder than the sound of the November wind hissing thought the cracks in the window.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to focus. Just as Shawn had told her to. 'You're going to do this,' she reminded herself. 'Because Robin's life depends on it.'

She sat back down on the sofa and waited for Shawn to return, a million doubts racing through her mind. 'Enough,' she scolded herself. 'This is not the time for second thoughts.'

'Besides, you've had enough headaches to be able to fake one convincingly,' she thought, with a lop-sided grin.

She didn't notice Shawn was back in the room, until he virtually stood next to her.

Anna almost jumped out of her skin. "Damn...you're stealthy. There's only one other person who used to be able to do that to me..."

"I'm going to put on another pot of coffee," he told her, stretching. "Do you want a cup?"

Anna shook her head, her eyes on the Colt that rested in Shawn's holster. "No…" She moved a hand to her forehead and bent over, closing her eyes.

"Hey?" O'Malley turned towards her, "You okay?"

Anna shook her head, groaning. "No…"

He kneeled down next to her. "Anna…tell me, what's wrong? Do you want me to get your sister?" The concern in his voice was so genuine it made Anna feel guilty for what she was doing.

She saw Shawn move his arm towards her, giving her the perfect opportunity to grab the handgun from his holster.

As soon as the weapon was in her hands, her gaze became focused and clear.

"Move away from me, Shawn. Slowly. One step at a time."

"What?" He looked at her in shock. "What the hell are you doing, Anna?"

Her voice was ice-cold. "I said, _move away from me!_ You don't want to make me use this."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter XXIV**

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Anna, put the gun down."

Anna shook her head, her face devoid of emotion. "I said move away from me and towards the door of the cabin."

For a quick second Shawn O'Malley diverted his gaze away from her and to where he knew the hunting rifles rested. He frowned when he saw they were gone. _You hid them when I left the room. Very clever_. He wanted to kick himself for his carelessness. _Why the hell didn't I realize you were going to pull a crazy stunt like this?_ He remembered her words less than a day earlier, _"Just try and stop me from protecting my baby. Try."_

"I'm not going anywhere," he told her calmly. "And neither are you."

"You think I'm incapable of using this on you?" She moved her finger onto the trigger, obviously pleased to see a trace of fear in his jade green eyes. "If you believe that, then you don't know me at all."

He stared back at her, remembering how she'd cried when he told her about Lauren. 'I do believe that. God help me, if I'm wrong,' he thought, taking a deep breath. He'd always trusted his instincts and now they were telling him she wasn't capable of shooting him.

"Don't do this, Anna," was all he said.

"I said _move towards the door!_"

"What do you want me to do there?"

"I want you to move the cabinet we pushed in front of the door. I can't do it myself."

Shawn nodded, understanding. "You want me to open the door so you can walk into Faison's trap."

Her dark eyes glared at him, angrily this time, "Just do it!"

"This isn't the answer," he tried, gently, his eyes locked on hers.

Anna made no effort to lower her weapon. "Bart is dying and Robin's out of the medication that's keeping her alive," she told him. "If I give Faison what he wants, you can get Bart to a hospital and Robin back to Bear Lake, to where she's left the rest of her medication. It's the only way."

"If you leave Robin again, you're going to break her heart."

"If that what it takes to keep her alive, then I'm willing to break her heart."

"This isn't the answer, Anna," he repeated.

Gun still raised, her lips rose into a challenging smile. "Then tell me what the answer is, Shawn? Tell me what I should do to keep my daughter and my friend alive?"

Shawn didn't know the answer. But he knew he couldn't concoct one on the spot. At least not one that was plausible. She was too smart for that. "There has to be another way…" he tried, fishing for time.

"Then _tell_ me, damn it!"

"I don't know, Anna. Put down the gun and give me five minutes to think of something, _anything_, but this…"

"Tell me, Shawn…" He watched her expression change from resolve to defeat, as her eyes darkened. "Please tell me, because I don't want to do this…I don't want to lose my baby again…and I definitely know I don't want to die."

Shawn closed his eyes, hating the effect her words had on him. She was right. Much as he hated to admit it. They didn't have time to play with. The only way to get Faison off their backs was to give him what he wanted. _Even so, I won't let_ _you do this…_

She used the back of her hand to wipe away a tear, the Colt surprisingly steady in her other hand, "What if you could turn back time, Shawn? What if you had a chance to save the life of your wife and daughter?"

"This is different…Robin wouldn't want you to do this. She'd hate it."

"Robin's paying for my sins…and I won't let her risk her life because of them. _I won't_."

Shawn took a step towards her, "Anna, put the gun down…I swear, if you do, we'll find a way out of this…together."

Anna shook her head, her finger resting squarely on the trigger. "Don't take another step!"

Shawn raised his hands defensively. "You don't have to do this."

"No, you're wrong I _do_ have to do this because Robin _has_ to live. So does Bart. You know damn well, that if you were in my place you'd do the exact same thing. It's the only thing I have left to give my daughter…the only gift I can give her. The gift of life."

"We could try and take them on, the two of us…" he suggested.

"And get both of us killed? You said it yourself, two armed people against four is lousy odds."

Shawn's frustration mounted. "So you martyr yourself for the rest of us because somehow you think our lives are more important than yours? Is that it?"

Anna smirked. "Trust me…I'm not the martyr type. I also don't believe Faison wants me dead or even hurt. He'll have won round one by coercing me out of this cabin. That doesn't mean I won't escape him the minute I get a chance. If I can kill him in the process, even better."

Shawn shook his head in disbelief, "Jesus Christ, Anna! Who are you kidding? Once he has you, he's never going to let you go. He could drug you and haul you halfway across the planet. We're talking about an obsession that's spanned over two decades!"

Anna let his words hang in the smoky air.

Shawn saw her attention fade, for just an instant, as if lost in some memory of the past. It was all he needed. He knew that if he wanted to, he could have disarmed just then. In that one instant.

But he didn't. Instead, he watched her lower her eyes, seeing the full extent of the fatigue in them for the first time.

"I'm tired, Shawn. I'm so tired of fighting. Please…I'm begging you, will you help me do this?"

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA _

_Security Office_

Dimitri Marick sat in the security office of Pine Valley Hospital watching the video tape for the umpteenth time, trying in vain to make some sort of connection to the old man he saw on screen and Alex's disappearance.

A young security guard stared at him as he loosened his tie, saying nothing as Dimitri moved to rewind the tape once more. The door of the office suddenly flew open and a man in his early forties entered.

He had short, wavy brown hair and an approachable face that contrasted to the obvious authority he commanded. The man looked at Dimitri and held out his hand.

"You must be Dimitri Marick."

Dimitri nodded, spotting a Commissioner's badge on the man's belt. "You're Mac Scorpio. It's good to see you…I only wish it were under better circumstances." His presence here surprised Dimitri. Mac had spoken to him on the phone only hours before and he hadn't mentioned that he'd be coming to Pine Valley so soon.

"I should have told you I was coming…" Mac said, as if reading his mind. "It was a sudden decision after we got the results of the fingerprint tests in your wife's office. Senator Hartford was kind enough to lend me his jet."

"I would have gladly sent down one of my own planes for you. All you had to do was ask," Dimitri told him. "What were the results of the fingerprints the PVPD lifted from Alex's office?"

"There were over a two dozen prints taken from the office, including Dr. Hayward's and Alex's, and…" Mac paused, pointing to the TV screen. "That man's."

"How were you able to distinguish his prints from others you found?" Dimitri asked him.

"Because his were in a federal government database. His name is Bart Milton. He was a federal agent."

Dimitri raised his brows. "He worked for the FBI?"

Mac shook his head, "No, not the FBI." He gestured to the guard seated in the room. "Would you be so kind as to give us some privacy?"

The young man nodded, "Of course, sir."

After he left the room, Dimitri asked him again. "Then who did he work for?"

"The WSB."

"The WSB?" Dimitri tried to remember why the name sounded so familiar. "Isn't that the agency Robin's parents worked for?"

Mac nodded. "Yes, Robert and Anna both worked for the WSB."

"If memory serves me right, according to Alex, Anna was ex-communicated by the agency, on grounds of treason."

"Not just ex-communicated," Mac explained. "She was placed under a Black Box Order, a directive aimed at stopping agents who are perceived to be a threat to both the organization and their country."

"'_Stopping them'_?"

"By means of having them killed," Mac went on, sombrely. "The WSB ordered to have Anna killed because they believed she was selling, or giving, top-secret information to the head of the DVX. To Cesar Faison."

"Alex had some vague inside information about the allegations made against Anna, because of her connections to Brynn Wydd. But she always insisted to me that she didn't believe them. That she felt her sister couldn't have committed those crimes."

Mac helped himself to a can of soda from the vending machine in the room and sat down next to Dimitri. "My brother didn't believe them either…he followed Anna to Venezuela, where he found her on an abandoned tanker off the Atlantic coast, together with Cesar Faison. I don't know whether he ever got a chance to question her…I just know that shortly after he found her, the entire ship blew up into a million pieces. I lost my brother and Robin lost both her parents in that explosion. Thankfully, a friend of ours, Sean Donely, had enough pull in the WSB to prevent the details of their deaths from ever being released to the media. So at least Robin could grow up believing her parents were heroes, who died in the line of fire, rather than potential traitors chased to their deaths by the organization they used to work for."

"But what does all that have to do with what happened since Alex and Robin left Pine Valley? Why would a man who worked for the WSB contact my wife?"

Mac took a sip of his soda. "There's more to it. Once we matched the prints to his name we did a little background research and found out that Bart Milton wasn't any agent."

"What do you mean?"

"He was the man who was sent to carry out the Black Box order against Anna."

Dimitri was shocked. "What?" He turned towards the TV screen. "_That_ man was sent to kill Anna, all those years ago? What in the world would he want with my wife now?" The thought sent an uneasy chill down his spine.

"Not just Alex, Robin too…" Mac added quietly, finishing the last of his soda and throwing the can into the blue recycling bin next to the wall. "I don't know…after all these years, it doesn't make…" He was cut off in mid-sentence as a uniformed officer entered the room.

"Commissioner Scorpio…" the woman hesitated when she saw another man next to him. "I have information about the case…"

Mac nodded, "You can go ahead…this is Dimitri Marick, Dr.Marick's husband."

The officer gave Dimitri a sympathetic nod. "The white Mercedes you asked us to trace was located less than an hour ago by the Ontario Provincial Police. It was found next to an Avis rental car, at a logging camp in Northern Ontario, about seventy-five miles north of the nearest settlement, Sioux Lookout."

_Bear Lake First Nation, Northern Ontario_

Joseph Thunderclap smiled when he smelled the delicious aroma of venison stew coming from his sister's kitchen.

"My favourite…" he grinned, as he walked over to his sister, hunched over the stove. He noticed a brand new CD player lying on the kitchen table and picked it up. "Is this Ben's?" he asked, referring to his nephew.

"No…it's Lucy's."

Joseph set it back down. "She's been in a good mood lately, hasn't she? Lots of shopping."

His sister smiled, her usual shy smile. "Ever since she got that money from that man…" She stopped herself in mid-sentence and Joseph saw her face turning bright red.

Joseph stared at her, "What did you say?"

"I mean ever since…she..she w-won at Bingo." She started to stutter, as she often did when she was nervous.

Joseph stood up. "That's not what you said."

"Th-That's what I meant."

Joseph was unyielding. "Cecilia, tell me how Lucy got all that money."

His sister shook her head, her gaze fixed on the pot of meat in front of her. "I t-t-told you."

"Tell me the truth."

His sister shook her head, voraciously this time, "I can't t-tell you…she made me swear not to t-t-tell. She'll _kill_ me." She was pleading now.

"She's not going to kill you. But you're going to tell me the truth."

"Please don't make me, Joe."

"Tell me, Cecilia," he repeated, gently.

She didn't look at him. "There was a man…a white man. He was here a f-f-few days ago, looking for Anna."

Joseph remembered the strange man with the heavy accent, asking first him and then his brother for the whereabouts of Anna Scorpio. He remembered the sense of relief he felt when the man left his brother's office with no further knowledge of where Anna could be found.

"He gave Lucy money and she told him where to find Anna, didn't she?" Joseph finished for her.

He dropped his arms and felt a sudden sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"_Oh God, what did she do?"_

Joseph ran out of his sister's kitchen before she had a chance to say anything else.

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario_

"You're asking me to help you give yourself up?"

Anna nodded, leaning against the wall, feeling her eyes sting with fatigue as she closed them. "Yeah…that's what I'm asking you. I'm also asking you to give my friend and my daughter a fighting chance."

Shawn ran a hand along his chin. "At your expense, Anna?"

"Please…"

"I swore to myself I'd get everyone out of this…" he mumbled, unable to look at her.

"You can't save everyone all the time, you and I both know that. Better than anyone."

He said nothing.

"Please, Shawn…I can't do this if you fight me."

The silence that hung in the air was heavy and stiffling. Until Shawn finally met her gaze, decision made. "Alright...I'll help you."

Anna closed her eyes again, an enormous sense of relief washing over her. "Thank you."

Without a word, Shawn started to push the heavy, oak cabinet away from the door of the cabin, making an effort to do so quietly so as not to wake Alex and Robin.

Meanwhile, Anna placed the semi-automatic down on the sofa, and went to put on her winter coat.

The door of the cabin was unobstructed now, and Anna saw Shawn observing her. He glanced at the Colt lying on the sofa. "That wasn't very smart…I could stop you now."

She gave him a bittersweet smile. "You won't. I trust you're a man of your word, Shawn O'Malley. You should push the cabinet back as soon as I've left, in case Alex or Robin get up and see it…"

He saw that a part of her coat's hood was stuck underneath its collar and he moved to adjust it. "I can't believe I'm going along with this…" he whispered to her. He stood close enough to rest his forehead against hers and she felt the warmth of his breath against her face. "Is this really the only solution?"

She didn't answer him, instead she pulled out two pieces of paper, from her pocket.

"Will you give these to Robin and my sister?"

"You wrote them _goodbye_ letters?" Shawn asked in disbelief.

Anna shook her head. "No…not that. I…I just wanted to tell them why I had to do this. I owe them that much." Her voice was barely a whisper and her hands shook as she handed him the papers. The letters she'd written while he was asleep. "Please, will you give these to them?"

Shawn took the letters in silence, pulling Anna towards him as he did. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. "I want you to come back, Anna…"

She nodded, wanting him to know she meant it in more ways than one. "I want that too…"

"You can still change your mind about this…it's not too late for me to move that cabinet back over the door…"

Anna wiped the tears from her face, forcing herself to pull away from him. "Will you tell Robin, I love her?"

"Yes…"

"Will you make sure she gets to her medication? Can I count on you?"

"Promise."

"Thank you."

She moved towards the door, zipping up her coat as she braced herself for the ice-cold nighttime air.

Then she walked out of the cabin.

Without looking back.

_Outside the cabin_

Leila Moyo, wearing her infrared night vision glasses, was the first to spot the lone figure leaving the log cabin.

She radioed Faison excitedly, proud to be the first one to spot her. "Sir, there's activity outside the cabin. One person has just left the structure. I believe it may be Anna Devane."

_Inside the cabin_

Shawn had barely moved the cabinet back in front of the door when he heard the sound of footsteps entering the room.

Robin Scorpio walked into the room, yawning.

"Hi Shawn…" she mumbled.

"Robin…?" His voice caught in his throat.

She plopped herself down on the sofa and then turned to him, as if suddenly aware of the odd silence in the room. "Hey...where's my mom?"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter XXV**

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

"Where's my mom?"

"What are you doing up?" Shawn O'Malley asked Robin, ignoring her question.

"Alex was kind of restless, so I couldn't sleep anymore…" Robin got up from the sofa, looking around the room, glancing at the flames in the fireplace. "I was hoping she'd be up and we could, I don't know...chat for a bit?"

"She's…in the bathroom." Shawn wondered how long he had until Faison left with Anna. How long before it was safe for him to leave the cabin with Robin and Bart. _A half hour...fifteen minutes, is that enough?_ He looked at Robin, unable to meet her eyes. _How in the world am I going to explain this to her?_

Robin nodded, "I'm going to check on Bart."

"Sure."

She turned around. "You look pretty glum…did something happen during the last few hours? Did you and Mom have an argument? Is she driving you nuts yet?"

Shawn caught his breath. "No...it's just been hard... to accept that we're not in control of this situation."

"Yeah…Mom's not very good at that either. I've had to learn. Having HIV gives you a quick reality check of just how little control over our lives we have."

Shawn frowned, knowing she'd probably already run out of the protocol. "How _are_ you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she gave him an awkward smile. "_You're_ the one who looks like you just lost your best friend."

He wanted to say something, but found neither the words nor the voice. 'Robin's never going to forgive me for what I did. _Never_.' He watched her walk into Bart's room, and raised his eyes towards the ceiling. _Do I even have a best friend?_

A sudden chill swept through his body, as he heard Anna's voice. _I don't want to do this, I don't want to lose my baby again_…_and I definitely know I don't want to die._

He took a deep breath. "As soon as Robin gets her medication and Bart gets to a hospital, I'll find you and get you away from that monster. Because...I could sort of use a best friend."

_Outside the cabin_

Cesar Faison's heart was racing.

_This is it. She's finally going to be mine. I've waited so long. So unbelievably long…_

It was impossible for him to think of anything else but her and he was grateful for Jan's presence, as it offered at least a minor distraction from his thoughts.

"If it is Anna, we should head out of here as soon as possible," his assistant told him.

"Of course it's Anna. She would never do something as stupid as send anyone else out out in her place."

He picked up his walkie-talkie and heard Moyo's voice on the other end. "I have Anna Devane here with me. She's unarmed and we're heading towards the tent together."

Faison frowned. Of course, she wouldn't be armed. The Anna he knew and loved would never jeopardize Robin's life by showing up armed. "Tell Michaud to keep a close eye on the cabin and to report any suspicious activity to me immediately." He trusted Anna not to do anything foolish but he didn't have the same faith in the others. "Meanwhile, I want you and Jan to start getting the boat ready to leave. I want us out of here in twenty minutes." He wouldn't bother taking their supplies with them. He had no further use for them. Instead they'd make a beeline for the boat.

"It'll be almost an hour before sunrise," Moyo told him over the radio. "We shouldn't leave until we have sufficient daylight."

Faison liked the woman but if she was going to work for him in the future, she'd have to learn that when he issued a directive there was no questioning it. "I said we're leaving as soon as possible. Over and out." Faison put down the walkie-talkie and grabbed a flashlight to head outside.

He couldn't wait another minute.

He turned on the flashlight and saw two figures approaching in the distance. His lips widened into an uncontrollable smile.

"Well hello, Anna. Welcome back."

_Inside the cabin_

Robin looked tired when she emerged from Bart's room.

"How is he?" Shawn asked.

Robin frowned. "It's bad, Shawn. Alex was right. If we don't get him out of here, we're going to lose him. We don't have anything here to help him fight off the infection." She took a sip of coffee, from the steaming mug she held in her hands, noticing her mother was still nowhere in sight. "Is Mom _still_ in the bathroom?"

Shawn nodded.

"Is she okay?"

"Sure…"

Robin's didn't miss the hesitancy in his voice and she looked at him skeptically.

Shawn could almost sense the feeling of dread washing over her. Robin set down her mug, "I…I'm going to knock on the door."

Shawn said nothing and closed his eyes. He knew it was only a matter of time before she'd find out and he steeled himself for the inevitable.

Robin ran towards the bathroom door. "Mom? Mom!" She knocked before pushing the door open, shocked to find the room empty.

"Mom?" She gasped the word, her voice barely a whisper. The she looked at Shawn, back in the main room, "Shawn, she's not there! She's _gone_!"

"Did you hear me?" Robin moved to step in front of him, her face a mask of panic, "Are you listening to me? My Mom's gone…we have to find her before it's too late! We have to go…"

Shawn got up and put a hand on her shoulder. He was calm now. Calm. Cool. Collected. He had to be. There was no other way. "Robin, calm down, please... I _know_. I know she's gone."

Robin shook her head, uncomprehending. "What do mean you _know_ she's gone?"

"She left to because…because she believed it was the only way to get us out of here. She knew that your protocol ran out. She knew Bart's situation was desperate."

Robin face was pale as a sheet. "No…no…no you didn't let her go. You didn't…you _couldn't_..."

Shawn put his arms around her, trying to get her to sit down. "Robin, take a deep breath...you're starting to hyperventilate…"

"How _could_ you?" She glared at him with accusation and disbelief. "How could you let her do that? How could you…how could you…?" She said the words over and over, as if it might get her an answer that made sense. As if any answer could. Make sense.

Tears streamed down her face.

She refused to sit down.

Shawn wouldn't force her. He knew that telling Robin would be hard. What he didn't know was that her reaction would affect him the way it did, threatening to tear out his heart with one look at her.

"Robin…please…"

She pushed his hands off her, still glaring at him. "Don't you touch me! Get away from me!" She ran towards the door of the cabin and attempted to push away the heavy cabinet and Shawn ran after her, trying to pull her away.

"Robin, stop…"

She pushed him away again. Her tear-streaked face turning towards the door of her mother's room. "Alex! Help me!"

Robin ran to where her aunt was sleeping, and promptly collided with her as Alex came out of the room. "Robin, what's going on? I heard you yelling…"

"She's gone, Alex. My mom's gone," she struggled to speak between her sobs. "He let her go to Faison…"

Alex brushed sleep from her eyes, as she held on to her niece. "What?"

Shawn looked at Alex. "Anna left because it was the only way to get Robin to Bear Lake and Bart to a hospital right away."

"I don't understand…"

Shawn knew that Alex wouldn't understand no matter how he attempted to explain it. _How could she? I don't understand it myself. _Both of them had counted on him to protect the woman they loved and he'd failed them.

_If Anna had the guts to do what she did, then I can face their anger._

Not that their anger mattered right now. Nor did it matter that both Robin and Alex would hate him for what he did. The only thing that mattered was getting Robin back to Bear Lake and Bart to a hospital. 'Because I'll be damned, if you walked into Faison's arms for nothing…I owe you that much.'

"Anna knew that Robin was out of the protocol, and that Bart's life was hanging by a thread," he tried to explain to Alex. "She decided she had to do something." He paused as Alex stared at him in disbelief unable to say anything as his words sunk in, Robin still wrapped in her arms.

He went on, matter of factly, "I want to get to Bear Lake at the first hint of sunlight." He couldn't see outside but he knew from looking at his watch that the sun would probably rise in less than half an hour.

Alex looked utterly shocked.

"Do you have any idea what sort of hell you let my sister walk into?" she demanded.

Shawn glanced at his watch again. It had to be enough time. Faison had to have left the area by now. With Anna.

He pushed her from his mind. Anna didn't matter right now, Robin did.

He ignored Alex's question. "Robin…I want you to get dressed. You're coming to Bear Lake with me to get to your meds and to get help for Bart. You should stay here with him, Dr. Marick, just long enough for me to call in a medevac chopper."

Robin shook her head, angrily, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere with you…I'm going to find my mother."

"You _are_ coming with me. If I have to pick you up and carry you to that boat, you're coming."

"Don't you dare tell me what to do!" She faced him now, her eyes red and furious, "You bastard…you said you'd protect her…" She hit him angrily, pummeling his chest with her fists. "I hate you for what you did…_I hate you!_"

She hit him again, and Shawn let her, making no efforts to stop her. "I hate you so much…" Tears were still tumbling down her cheeks. "You let him take her away from me. Again."

"Robin stop it…this isn't going to help your mother..." It was Alex who pulled Robin away from him.

She pushed off her aunt. "Then help me move the cabinet…help me get out of here. Help me find my mom."

"Robin, you've got to calm down."

Robin glared at her too. "Don't you tell me to calm down…" She started to push the cabinet again, visibly frustrated when it barely budged in spite of her efforts.

Alex put her arms around her again, "Robin, stop it!"

_"Help me, damn it!"_

"Robin!" Alex stood helpless as she watched Robin frantically pushing the heavy piece of furniture away from the door. "Robin…"

She ignored her and Shawn saw Alex doing the one thing that made sense. She slapped her.

Robin stopped what she was doing only to glare at her aunt in shock. "Oh my God…you're on his side…I thought maybe you'd understand…that I can't lose my mom again. But you don't…you're on his side."

"Robin, sweetheart…I'm not on anybody's side. I love you so much, but Shawn's right. Trying to get to your mom is pointless right now. Faison's men are armed and probably halfway to Bear Lake or the lumber camp by now…who knows. Bart's fighting for his life in that room. We have to get him to a hospital and your body needs those pills to survive."

Robin started to cry again. "I don't want to lose my mom again, Alex…I can't…it hurts too much." Her body shook as she finally let Alex embrace her.

Alex held on to her tightly. "We're going to get her back…I promise you."

_Outside the cabin_

"Welcome back, Anna." The exhilaration at seeing her was written all over his face.

Anna said nothing as she stared at him, feeling a shiver run down her spine. She remembered him now. Remembered all the pain and misery he'd caused her. _And you're still doing it. So many years later, you're still trying to break me_. She steeled herself against his voice and his stare. 'I'm going to kill you, Cesar Faison,' she decided, then and there. 'If it's the last thing I do.'

"Do you remember me, Anna?" he asked her, unnerved by her stare.

"Unfortunately, yes." She also decided that trying to deceive him was pointless. Even if he thought she couldn't remember the things he'd done in the past, his current actions would have been more than enough to make her furious. Trying to make him think otherwise was foolish.

"I know you're angry with me right now…" he started.

"Angry isn't the word that comes to my mind," she cut him off.

He reached out to touch her face and bit his lips in excitement. "You look tired, Anna."

"The past three days haven't exactly been very relaxing."

"I know you don't agree with the way I brought you here…"

She cut him off again, furious. "You killed my dog, and then you shot my friend."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone…"

"But you did. _Again_."

"I know you don't like me right now. But that will change, Anna…I've always only wanted what was best for you. I don't know why you could never to see that." He couldn't stop staring at her. "And let's be honest, my love, would you have come, if I had knocked and _asked_?"

His psychotic justification of it all just made Anna shiver more. In spite of her bravado, all it took was one glance at the man in front of her to realize the god-awful truth.

Cesar Faison terrified her.

Faison reached out to touch her again, placing his hands on her shoulders, a move that made her tremble. "You're cold, Anna," he told her softly, frowning, a trace of obvious concern lining his thin, pale lips.

She shook her head, "No…I'm not cold. I'm used to the cold."

He saw the fear in her eyes, in spite of her efforts to hide it. It was a reaction that hurt him. "Don't be afraid of me, my love. I don't ever want you to be afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Good," he said.

Anna knew he didn't believe her. "Stay away from my daughter and my sister and we'll get along just fine."

He caressed her face with one of his hands and it took all of Anna's efforts not to slap him in return.

It was too soon to infuriate him. She just wanted him to make his way out of here with her, so that Bart and Robin could safely leave. He then pushed back the hood of her jacket and ran his fingers through her hair. "I know you hate me right now, Anna. I'm not a fool. It will take time for you to trust me again, just as it will take time for me to trust you. But time is a luxury we have, my love. We have all the time on the world for you to learn to love me once more. I'm going to take care of you from now on. You're never going to want for anything in this world again."

'Except for the one thing that means to most to me…my beautiful daughter,' she thought bitterly, afraid that if she so much as mentioned Robin's name, it would occur to Faison to take her as well.

Her thought was interrupted by the voice of the same woman who escorted her to Faison. "Sir, the boat is ready. Jan and Michaud are already waiting inside."

Faison acknowledged her announcement with a nod. "Good." He pulled out a pair of metal handcuffs from his jacket pocket. "I'm sorry, Anna, but I have to do this," he said. The regret in his voice was sincere, as he gently took her hands and cuffed them. "I love you, Anna but you know I can't trust you yet." He raised her hands to his lips and kissed them. "Once you're on my estate in Europe, you'll be free again."

'I bet,' she thought, cynically. 'Behind a stone wall surrounded by a moat and guard dogs, I'm sure.' She briefly closed her eyes as he moved his arms around her waist and nudged her towards his boat.

'It doesn't matter,' she thought, a morbid smile raising her lips. 'Because I'm going to kill you before we get to Europe.'


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter XXVI**

_Bart's cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

Alexandra Marick wiped away Robin's tears and then gave her a gentle push towards Anna's room.

"Get dressed and go to Bear Lake with Shawn. The sooner we get your meds and Bart to a hospital, the sooner we can go after Faison and Anna."

Robin said nothing but she nodded; her face so pale and shaken, it made Alex wonder whether telling her to go with Shawn was the right thing to do. She gave her another nudge, "You're going to be fine, Robin. You're strong just like your mother."

Alex sighed and sank down into the sofa when Robin left the room.

"I thought I knew you…" she said softly to Shawn O'Malley. "I'm not sure anymore…"

"I don't expect you to understand," he replied without a hint of defensiveness.

"Try me."

"Anna saw it as the only way to make sure Robin got her meds in time and Bart to a hospital. I didn't agree with her, but in hindsight, I think maybe she was right. If she hadn't done what she did, we'd still be sitting here waiting. And neither Bart nor Robin have time to spare."

"What Anna did…_it's suicide!_ Faison will never give her up again. He'll try to kill her before he lets her go. And you let her walk into that kind of trap?"

Shawn picked up a rifle from underneath the sofa, where Anna had hidden them. "She made a decision, and she asked me to help her carry it out…" His voice was much softer than Alex ever remembered it being. It was missing all its customary confidence. As angry as she was, Alex_ knew_ that Shawn wouldn't have done what he did unless he believed there was no other choice. Shawn O'Malley wasn't a man who made decisions easily or lightly.

He also looked as defeated as she'd ever seen him. And she'd seen him in some pretty tight situations.

One thing was obvious; Shawn O'Malley had changed since coming here.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Marick…"

"For god's sake, would you just call me Alex?"

"I don't know if Anna made the right decision. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't, but I _am_ sorry for how things turned out, Alex. For the pain that Robin's going through."

"I know you're a good man, Shawn…you've proven that to me and Dimitri many times over. Even this won't change that…but I do think you made the wrong decision. Both you and Anna."

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Anna asked me to give this to you."

Alex took it. "What is it?"

"I don't know."

Alex was about to look at it, when she saw Robin coming the room. She quickly stuffed the paper into the pocket of her jeans. "Hey…sweetie. You ready?"

Robin nodded, saying nothing. She was still as pale as she was before.

Alex tightened the scarf around her neck, frightened at the sight of her. "You're going to get to the protocol and Bart to a hospital. Then we're going to find your mom. Okay? We won't stop until we do."

Robin nodded, still silent. Alex couldn't tell whether she heard or believed her.

Shawn moved his arm around her shoulder, "Come on lets go."

She pushed away his arm with a strength that surprised Alex. "Don't touch me…"

Shawn raised his arm. "I won't. I promise."

She glared at him, "You're promises aren't worth much. You can keep them to yourself."

Shawn nodded, "Fair enough." He pushed open the door of the cabin, motioning for her to stay back as he drew his Colt and took a tentative step outside.

A gust of cold air filled the cabin, and Robin stepped outside behind him, her feet sinking into the snow beneath.

"We have to find the boat," Shawn explained. "It's not where we docked it. They must've hidden it." He carefully surveyed the woods around the cabin for any signs of life, relieved to find none.

'They're long gone,' he thought, forcing himself to push an image of Anna with Faison out of his mind.

Alex's voice sprung into his head as soon as the image left.

_What Anna did…it's suicide!_

He surveyed the area and spotted a fading fire, mostly smoke now, in the distance. He also saw the outlines of a tent.

'I guess they left in a hurry. They didn't bother to pack their supplies.'

He continued walking, along the shores of the lake, thinking surely they didn't drag Bart's boat far from the shore. He spotted a glimmer of steel and Plexiglas, behind a snow covered bush, reflecting in the early light of the sun. He pointed to it, "There! I think I found it."

Robin didn't move.

"Robin, come on!"

She stood motionless, staring into the frozen forest ahead of her.

"Robin!" He wanted to pull her towards the boat, but then remembered his promise. "Come on! We don't have time to waste."

Robin shook her head. "I can't leave here."

"Yes you can, Robin."

It started to snow again, dimming the faint morning sunlight.

Robin didn't blink as a huge snowflake fell on her eyelash.

O'Malley was starting to worry for Robin. "Robin, Bart needs to get to a hospital. He's going to die if he doesn't… you know that don't you?"

"I don't care about Bart…I care about my mom."

"You don't mean that. Your mom wanted us to do whatever we could to save Bart. "

"She might need me…I can't leave."

"Robin, your mom needs you to stay healthy, so you can help me get her back to us. I _need_ you to help me do that."

Robin didn't look as though she was hearing a thing he said.

"Stop thinking that she's dead, Robin!" Shawn told her. He needed her to have that much faith. "She's _not_…and she's not _going_ to. Faison wants her alive and Anna knows that. Your mom is strong and clever and tough and she's going to use Faison's twisted obsession to her advantage every chance she gets. She's going to manipulate him for however long it takes because now she's got all the reason in the world to come back."

The last words seemed to have registered and Shawn was encouraged to see a trace of colour return to her cheeks. "You. You're the reason that she's not going to lose this fight against Faison."

Robin nodded. "I know…"

"Good. Then come with me, to Bear Lake, get your meds, get help for Bart…" He held out his hand to her.

She raised her eyes to look at him, her head slightly tilted, pensive, and in that moment she was a mirror of her mother. It was the same gesture Anna had made as she moved her bishop across the chessboard almost two days ago. Checkmate in one clever move.

"Alright," she answered him, her voice suddenly steady again, reaching out for his hand. "Let's go."

_Near the logging camp, Northern Ontario_

"I have to go," Anna told Faison. A splash of ice-cold water crashed over the hull of the boat, sprinkling their faces. They had left the calm of the lake and were on much more turbulent river waters.

"What?" Faison asked, not understanding.

" I have to pee."

"I don't think so. It's less than half an hour to the logging camp. You'll have to wait." He frowned at her obvious ploy. _Surely_ _you don't think I'm that stupid?_

"It's over an hour to the logging camp. I can't wait that long."

"No it's not. It's less than half an hour."

Anna rolled her eyes. "It's over an hour. Trust me on this one. I've taken this route a few more time than you. I think I might have a better idea how far apart things are in this part of the world." She pointed to the black woman at the helm of the boat. "Why don't you ask your wilderness expert over there," she challenged him.

"How far is it to the logging camp?" Faison asked Leila Moyo.

She looked at a topographical map, that outlined the hills and rivers around them, "Probably just over an hour," she concluded.

Anna flashed him a victory smile. "Told you."

Faison frowned, "It doesn't matter. You'll have to wait."

Anna gritted her teeth. "Listen, I _have_ to go. I _really_ have to go."

"What kind of games do you think you're playing with me? Do you really take me for a fool, Anna?"

Anna held up her hands, "Games? What exactly am I going to do? You've handcuffed me, I'm unarmed, there's not a soul within a fifty miles of us. If you like you can come with me and hold a gun to my head while I go. I don't care. I just have to go!"

Faison stared at her, confused. "It's freezing out there…"

"No kidding."

"And I'll be standing right next to you…"

"I said I don't care."

"Fine." Faison raised his arm to catch Moyo's attention. "Leila, pull the boat over to the riverbank."

Jan, who had been listening to the exchange between Faison and Anna, leaned in towards his boss. "I wouldn't do that."

Faison ignored him. "I said pull over the boat."

Moyo looked at him with apprehension. "I agree with Jan, sir. I don't think that's a good idea."

Faison glowered at her. "I didn't ask you for your opinion. I said pull the boat over to the shore."

Michaud watched the exchange with amusement, before he saw Leila Moyo nodding. "Yes sir, of course."

When the boat reached the shore Faison pulled Anna up and took his semi out of its holster. The handcuffs made her lose her balance and she stumbled out of the boat, falling to her knees in the snow.

Faison hoisted her back up, putting one of his arms around her. He leaned in close to her, his breath visible in the ice-cold air, whispering, "I'm only doing this to show you that I'm willing to start trusting you. That I love you enough not to doubt your every move."

Anna nodded, "I can see that." She gave him a cynical smile, "In fact, you trust me so much, that in addition to the handcuffs you also drew your weapon. Just in case."

"I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not an idiot."

"No…you're right, Cesar. An idiot is one of the few things you're not."

He nudged her behind a pine tree. "Well…go ahead."

Anna turned towards the others on the boat, "Can we move into the forest just a little further? Having you as an audience is enough, I'd rather not have three others watching as well."

She watched him hesitate as he tightened his fingers on the gun's trigger. "Fine."

Anna raised her eyes up to his, "Thank you."

She started walking into the forest, keeping her balance with difficulty in the deep snow. She fell twice more before they were far enough from the shore to no longer see the boat.

Each time she fell, Faison pulled her back up and gently brushed the snow off her coat. "That's far enough," he told her.

She was silent, breathing heavily in the snow-covered forest that surrounded them.

"Go ahead."

"Do you…do you mind turning around?"

"I don't trust you, Anna. Not yet."

Anna nodded, surprising him by not protesting. "I know… I understand."

For the first time, since meeting him he saw neither rage nor bitterness in her dark eyes.

He watched her start to unzip her coat with difficulty and moved towards her. "Let me help you…"

Her face flushed a crimson red, a combination of anger and embarrassment at needing his help to undo her coat.

"I'm sorry, my love. I'm sorry it has to be like this," he told her softly. He expected sarcasm from her in return. Instead, all he got was an equally soft, "Thank you."

The words took him aback, multiplying his guilt. "You never have to thank me for anything I do for you, Anna."

"Will you turn around, please?" she asked him a second time.

"Anna, I…"

Her beautiful, tired eyes pleaded with him now, "Please?"

Faison nodded, unable to find the heart to deny her this smallest of requests. She was his only weakness and he knew it. She probably did as well.

"Fine," he conceded.

Anna took a deep breath as he finally turned his back to her.

He was standing mere steps away from her.

In one quick movement, she clasped her hands together and, using as much force as she could muster, she lunged forward to strike him on the side of the head.

Faison gasped in pain at the unexpected attack, losing his balance.

He fell backwards into the snow and his gun slipped out of his hand.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter XXVII**

_Bart's Cabin, Northern Ontario, Canada_

Alexandra Marick sat on the edge of Bart's bed, after changing the dressing on his wound one last time. He moaned, no longer recognizing her when she squeezed his hand.

"I know you feel like hell," she told him softly. "But if you hang on a little longer, you're going to be just fine. Shawn and Robin are on the way to get help."

His face was covered in tiny drops of perspiration and Alex wiped his forehead with a cold, wet towel. "A few more hours…that's all you have to hold on for. Okay?" She wasn't certain whether he could hear her or not, but she could see him when she spoke to him. "If you can manage that, then I promise you you're going to be fine."

'If only I could say the same for my sister...' she thought as she tossed the towel back into the water-filled pail that stood next to the bed.

She raised her eyes towards the log roof. "Damn it, Anna! Why did you think giving yourself up was the only solution?"

She reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out the piece of paper that O'Malley gave her. Reluctantly, she put on her glasses and started to read. Alex smiled when she saw the handwriting on the crumpled piece of paper. Unlike her own messy scrawl, Anna's writing was elegant and legible.

_My dear sister, _

_I know you probably won't agree with the decision I made, but I want you to know I didn't make it easily. Sometimes when you're pushed to the edge, with no solution in sight, you have to make a decision and carry it though. Any decision. So I made the one that felt right at the time. The only one that would make sure both Bart and Robin got out of here in time._

_Please don't think I made this decision thinking I'd never return to you and Robin. I'm going to do everything in my power to come back to you. I want to meet Max and Dimitri and be a part of a family again. There are so many reasons for me to fight now, I can't imagine not coming back. There is so much I want to know about you, so many questions I have, not the least of which is how come you ended up with all the brains in the family?_

Alex grinned, as she wiped away a tear and continued.

_I wish I had more time to say things I want to say to you. (If only your bodyguard wasn't so bloody efficient and aware of everything I'm doing)._

Alex chuckled.

_I do know that no matter how much I want to beat Cesar Faison at his game and no matter how badly I believe that I will, sometimes things don't turn out as planned. If I don't come back to you, please know that I died trying. _

_But more than anything else, I want to thank you, Alex, for loving my baby girl as much as you do. If I'm not able to do it myself, please promise me you'll keep on loving her, as much as she loves you. _

_Your sister,  
Anna_

Alex didn't bother wiping her tears away anymore. "You had better come back to us, Anna," she whispered."Because we have too much catching up to do."

_En route to Bear Lake_

Shawn O'Malley maneuvered the motorboat down the river with considerably less skill than Bart had done on the way to the cabin, but nonetheless they were slowly advancing against the ice-cold river current.

"We should be in Bear Lake soon," he pointed out to Robin, yelling over the roar of the motor and the crashing of the waves beneath.

Robin said nothing as she sat next to him, staring into the wilderness ahead. Her unblinking gaze still worried Shawn as he reached into his pocket to pull out the note that Anna had given him.

'I don't know if now is the best time for her to read this…' he contemplated. But something told him to trust Anna. 'You wouldn't have written something that would make Robin fear for you…you would have done the exact opposite. And she _needs_ something to jar her back into the present.'

"Robin," he called out, handing her the piece of paper. "Your mom gave me this. She wanted to say something to you, to help you understand her decision."

Robin eyed O'Malley and then took the paper without a word and unfolded it. She held it tightly in both hands to stop the wind from blowing it into the river.

Then she started to read.

_Near the logging camp_

As soon as Anna knocked Faison to the ground, she saw his gun tumbling into the snow. She sank to her knees and grabbed the weapon before Faison realized it had slipped out of his hand.

By the time Faison regained his balance and turned around to face Anna, he was looking into the barrel of his own Glock revolver, pointed squarely at his temple.

"Don't move," Anna threatened. Her balance was still compromised because of the handcuffs, and she clumsily shifted her legs in the snow.

"So this is how you repay me for trusting you?" he demanded, making no effort to hide the disdain in his voice. "How far do you think you're going to get with those handcuffs on? You stumbled every few feet in the snow…"

Anna tightened her finger on the trigger. "Getting away is not my number one concern right now."

Faison stared into her eyes, suddenly afraid. "Then what is?"

"Killing you."

_My darling daughter, _

_In my mind I can already see you reading this and it makes writing it that much more difficult. I know you're angry with me, Robin and I don't blame you. I've left you not once, but twice, and if you can't find it in your heart to forgive me, I understand, because forgiveness is not only difficult, it's impossible sometimes._

Cesar Faison loved Anna. He'd knew he'd never love anyone as much as he loved her. "I don't believe you're capable of killing me. There's a part of you, no matter how much you deny it, that has always felt something for me. You know it because you and I are cut from the same cloth, Anna…"

Anna's expression was ice-cold, her lips drawn in a hard, unforgiving line. "You stalked me while I was married to Robert. You tried everything in your power to keep us apart, and when that didn't work you decided that if you couldn't have me, then neither could Robert."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Anna…"

"The tanker, damn it!" She glared at him, the gun still aimed at his temple. "You blew up that ship, Faison. You killed my husband… you killed the man I loved and you almost killed me. I was left with nothing after that explosion! _Nothing!_ I couldn't remember a single damn thing. Not my name, not my past, worst of all, I couldn't remember my little girl…"

"The explosion, Anna…that wasn't my fault..." he tried, frightened for the first time, at the unbridled hatred in her eyes.

"You took everything away from me. _Everything_. And after all that time, you dare to come back into my life again…and the first thing you do is kill my dog and shoot my friend. Tell me again, what you think I'm capable of feeling for you? Tell me, Faison!"

"Anna…" he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Don't do this…"

"Tell me!" Her voice faded into the forest. "Tell me, what was it all for? Tell me…before I end your life."

Anna heard the sound of footsteps in the snow. A sound she heard too late.

"Stop! Right now! Drop the gun!"

Anna turned around in shock to see a gun aimed in her direction. A gun held firmly in the hands of Leila Moyo.

_Forgiveness is so difficult, Robin and, unlike you, I'm not sure I can let go of the anger inside of me. How can you forgive someone for taking away everything that was most precious to you? Everything that made your life what it was? _

_I remember so many things now. _

_I remember what it felt like when I held you in my arms for the very first time. Looking at you and realizing I held the most incredible gift in the world in my arms. It was as though someone had taken my heart and everything that was good in it, and created you. You were my miracle; Robin. You were the reason I went to search for your father. You made me believe I was good enough to win him back, because if had created something as precious as you, there had to be a part of me that was more than a traitor and a liar, a part of me that was truly worth loving._

Anna stared at the black woman.

"I said put the gun down!"

"I'll put it down right after I've killed Faison."

"Are you crazy?" Faison yelled at Leila Moyo. "You put that gun down! Anna is not going to kill me. She's bluffing. Don't you dare threaten her life!"

Anna saw the conflict in the woman's eyes. Torn between obeying and protecting her boss.

"I think you're wrong, sir," she tried to tell him.

Just as Anna saw the conflict in Leila's eyes, so too the DVX agent saw the hatred in Anna's eyes. Anna could see the terror in the other woman's eyes as pulled down on the trigger.

Anna fired first, but it took Leila less than an instant to follow suit.

Two bullets whizzed through the ice-cold air and dove into their respective targets.

The first one hit Cesar Faison and the second one hit Anna Scorpio.

_I remember watching you grow up. Saying your first words, taking your first steps, smiling your first smile, and crying your first tears. I only wish I could put into words the love I feel in my heart for you._

_You mean everything to me and you have no idea how much it hurts that I couldn't be there for you all these years. I wish there was a way to turn back time, to take these fourteen years and relive them. But time is cruel and merciless and allows for no favours. If I've learned one thing in life, it's that we can't change the past, but we can do something about the future._

_That's why I made the choice that I made, because you're my future, Robin. You're my reason for wanting to face it again. My hope. If I lost you, I'd lose everything all over again. And I couldn't do it again. Not without you._

The first moments after the gunfire were a blur of voices and sounds.

The impact of the bullet had sent Anna crashing to the ground, her fall cushioned by the nearly knee-high blanket of snow.

She heard footsteps in the snow, voices that were at once shocked, confused, and desperate.

"We have to get him out, to a hospital. He's losing so much blood…" a woman's frantic voice.

"We can't…not here in Canada…" another voice, with a Nordic accent.

"Why can't we leave them both here? Who would know?" A third voice with a distinctly French accent.

Silence. More movements in the snow.

"What are we going to do about her?" the voice with the Nordic accent asked, referring to Anna.

"Leave her here to die! She tried to kill him…she deserves to die a cold and agonizing death."

The man's voice chuckled. "You obviously don't know your boss very well. If he survives this and finds out we left her to die, he'll have your head."

"She's right," the Frenchman's voice interrupted. "We don't have the resources or the time to worry about _her_, not if we want to try and keep_ him_ alive. We're wasting precious time arguing."

"We have to get him out of here…now!" The woman's voice had a shrill desperation to it. She cared for Faison.

It was the last thing Anna heard before a wave of pain plunged her back into darkness.

_You're the most precious gift I've ever received. I haven't had the chance to give you anything over the last fourteen years but today I have the chance to give something back; a chance to live. _

_Please accept it, Robin. Accept the only thing I have to give you. Cherish it as much as I cherish you and promise me you won't look back in sadness._

When Anna slowly drifted back into consciousness, the first thing she noticed was the silence.

The sounds and voices were gone and she was alone in the snow-covered forest.

They left her to die_._

"I might have to disappoint them…" she whispered to herself, her mind surprisingly lucid now, in spite of a searing pain that threatened to overwhelm her. She wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious.

Although her hands were ice-cold, she could still feel her fingers in the snow. "Not long then," she decided. "Ten minutes maybe…maximum." Had she been unconscious longer, frostbite would have started to set in, making it impossible to feel her extremities.

"You _have_ to get up," she told herself. "If you stay here, you're going to die…either you'll bleed to death or freeze to death. Those are the choices…it's either that or try and make it to the river."

She managed to turn around and used her arms to prop herself up, realizing only then that she was still handcuffed. The movement sent another shot of pain through her body and Anna clenched her fists and bit her lips, until it washed over her.

She lowered her eyes and caught a glimpse of the damage the bullet had done. Because her coat was still open, she could easily see the growing bloodstain on her sweater. The bullet went through below her ribcage and on closer inspection she decided the blood stain wasn't nearly as bad as it could be, given the proximity of the shooter.

'It could be much worse,' she thought, trying to kneel in the snow. As she did, she turned around and saw the pool of blood she'd been lying in.

Ancient voices sprung into her head, memories of instructors during her training days in the WSB. _"There are three components that must be taken into consideration when we deal with bullet wound injuries; the entry wound, the projectile track and the exit wound…"_

The exit wound. How could she have forgotten? It _was_ as bad as it felt and she _had_ lost as much blood as she feared. "Still, it could be worse…" she tried to reassure herself, as panic gripped her. " It could be lodged inside."

"It doesn't matter," she kept talking to herself. "You can do this…you want to see your baby again, don't you?"

She found the nearest tree to prop herself up against, and, somehow, she stood up, leaning into it. The effort left her so light-headed and dizzy, she saw a dozen trees spinning around in her line of vision.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to steady herself.

It was Shawn's voice she heard now. _"Focus, Anna focus. Don't think about what could be or what might be. Think about the here and the now."_

At least with Faison gone she had a fighting chance. If she made it to the river, there was the possibility that a passing boat, however few there were at this time of the year, might spot her.

Anna groaned, taking only two steps before another wave of pain made her double over and sink back down to her knees.

She shook her head, scolding herself. It was less than a five-minute walk to the river. "But at this rate, you're never going to make it…"

Using more effort than she thought possible, she stood up again, and this time she took almost half a dozen steps before a nauseating dizziness made her lose her balance and fall back down.

It was a process she repeated twice more, leaving behind a messy trail of blood, before collapsing in the snow a final time.

Branches spun around above her, blocking her view of the sky.

"Who am I kidding? I can't do this…I can't…" merely whispering required more effort and energy than she had left. With every movement she knew she was exacerbating whatever damage the bullet's course had already done.

She desperately wanted to close her eyes, to escape from the pain and the exhaustion. "If you pass out now…you're not going to wake up again. You're going to die…" she told herself. It was the cold, harsh truth.

Her eyelids were unbearably heavy and she felt the last remnants of her life-force slipping away.

She _knew_ she was dying now.

She gasped, trying to breathe, her lungs complying with painful reluctance. 'It's not fair,' she thought. 'This is so damn unfair…I just got you back in my life and now I'm supposed to leave you again?'

'If I die, there's a good chance Faison will too…there's no way they could have gotten you to a hospital by now…'

The two of them, her beautiful daughter and her brilliant sister deserved to live a life without fear, without the ever-present threat of Cesar Faison.

'At least I did one thing right…'

Yet no matter how much she knew she made the right decision, Anna didn't want to die. In fact, she couldn't remember ever wanting to live as much as she wanted to live right now.

'I'm sorry, Robin. I'm so sorry it had to be this way…" Her handcuffed hands moved towards her waist, and as she did, she felt a rush of warm blood flow over them. She wished she could find a way to stop it somehow, but she could no longer even muster the strength to open her eyes.

"Robin…" she called out, barely audible. The pain was making her delirious. She wanted her last thought to be of Robin and she tried to recall one moment of happiness with her daughter. One that might last forever.

Instead, the image that came to her wasn't one of Robin but Robert.

Anna felt the pain subside as he moved his arms around her, cradling her. _"It's okay, luv,"_ he told her his familiar voice soft and soothing. _"It's okay. I know you're strong and you want to fight. Fight if you have to but I'm here to tell you that it's okay, if you don't. Sometimes it's okay to let go."_

"Robert…?"

His face bent down next to hers, kissing it. It was a simple gesture, yet it made Anna realize that she'd never felt as loved as she did in that very moment.

_"I've missed you, luv. I've missed you so much."_

"Robert…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry for everything. Do you have any idea how much…" she wasn't sure whether she was speaking the words, or thinking or dreaming them. "How much I loved you…?"

He kissed her again. _"I know, luv. I always knew."_

She groaned, as another wave of pain washed over her. Her last sensation was the indescribable comfort of her husband's arms around her body.

Lifting her up.

_Forgive me for leaving you again, my darling daughter. Please know that you're always in my heart. Always. No matter what happens. _

_With all my love,  
Mom_

Robin read the last line, when a sudden gust of wind blew the piece of paper out of her hands.

Robin jumped to grab it, but she wasn't quick enough. Instead she saw it dance in the air for an impossibly long moment, before a wave suddenly rose from the river and reached for it.

The ice-cold water claimed the crumpled piece of paper, pulling it into its depths, right in front of Robin's eyes.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter XXVIII**

_Northern Ontario, Canada_

Joseph Thunderclap reversed the engine on his boat, bringing it to a violent, shaking halt in the river. Splashes of water showered his face as he deftly turned the motorboat around.

He'd taken a short cut to the cabin. A dangerous route, full of rapids that he'd have rather avoided had he not felt that speed was essential. That Anna was in danger.

He was less than half an hour from Bart's cabin when he spotted the cluster of footprints in the snow on the riverbank.

It wasn't the footprints that made him bring the boat to a halt along the shore; it was the bright spots of red in the snow next to them.

Blood.

Joseph pulled the boat up to the shore, anchoring it before jumping out of it. He clutched his hunting rifle in his hand. "Hello…is anybody there?" he called out into the trees.

He bent down to examine both the footprints and the bloodstains. Judging from the variety of the prints, he deducted that there'd been five people here. It could have been local hunters, pulling their catch to their boat. But something told him it wasn't. It was the way the blood stains lined the snow. Something was off. Something that Joseph couldn't quite put his finger on.

He stared back out into the river, seeing his breath in the wintry air and he debating whether to check out the scene in front of him further.

'It's probably nothing,' he thought. 'You're wasting time here, while Anna might need you.' He was about to turn back to the boat, when a sudden chill made him stop dead in his tracks.

It made him change his mind.

He decided to follow the bloody footprints into the forest instead.

Joseph thought of Lucy as he walked through the snow, a surge of anger rising inside him. 'I could kill you for what you did…' He couldn't remember the last time he'd physically struck another person. Perhaps when he was younger, fighting with his older brother. Even that seemed so far back, he wondered if he ever _did_ fight with him. He'd never believed in violence, not because he considered himself above it, but because the thought of hurting someone appalled him.

The Creator had a reason for giving life to every living thing on this earth. Who was he, Joseph, to dispute those reasons? Unless he needed it for food, he had no right to end a life. He had no right to maim another life, unless it threatened his own. Even Lucy had a purpose. 'Though I can't for the life of me figure out was it is..' he thought, walking through the thick snow. 'It doesn't matter,' he decided, 'Her punishment isn't up to me. The band council and the elders will decide how she'll be punished.'

He'd walked mere minutes when he spotted something on the ground.

Joseph quickened his pace, gasping when he made out the figure in the snow.

Anna.

He threw down his rifle and knelt down next to her, checking for a pulse, terrified that he wouldn't find one.

"Anna…?" He slapped her cold face, gently at first, and then harder, when there was no reaction.

Who would shoot someone and leave her here to die? It was something you didn't do to animals, much less to humans. Maybe they'd killed her somewhere else and then brought her here, waiting for the wolves to clear her remains. "Oh Anna…who could do something like this to you?" His fingers rested on her neck, still unable to detect a pulse. Joseph cringed when he saw the handcuffs that bound her hands together. Then he opened her coat to see the extent of the damage the bullet, or perhaps it was _bullets_, had done. When he pressed his hand against her wound he suddenly felt her move beneath it, groaning softly at the pain from the pressure.

"_Anna_…?"

She was alive.

Joseph's mouth dropped open in shock and gratitude. He lowered his head out of respect for the miracle the Creator was bestowing on him. "Thank you, _thank you_…"

He cradled her against him, willing to transfer his body heat onto hers. "Come on, little Anna…don't you wimp out on me now."

Her eyes opened; glazed, delirious eyes. "Robert…" she gasped, her teeth chattering in the cold.

"Sure...I'll be whoever you want. Whoever it takes to keep you here with me."

She was freezing. Joseph took off his coat and draped it around her. He searched for his two-way radio, realizing he'd left it in the boat.

"Damn it," he cursed aloud, debating whether to leave her here as he made his way back to the boat to radio for help. He watched her close her eyes again, drifting back into unconsciousness. 'I don't think we have time for that,' he decided. He lifted her up, as gently as he could, his huge frame enveloping hers. The motion brought her back to him, making her moan in discomfort. "I know, it's gotta hurt. Once you're better you can yell at me…"

He talked to her as he walked through the forest. He wanted her to know that he was there, willing for her to hang on. To live. Normally he hated chatter and smalltalk when he was out in the forest, but now he needed to hear something, _anything_, even if it was the sound of his own voice.

Back at the riverbank, Joseph set her down inside the hull of the motorboat, trying in vain to make her comfortable. It frightened him that she was deathly still again.

He picked up the radio with shaking hands, about to call the emergency medical evacuation number, but stopped himself, radioing his brother instead. 'I can't risk them thinking it's just another drunk Indian in a snowmobile accident…they won't move fast enough.' The thought occured to him with neither bitterness nor malice. It was a simple truth and Anna didn't have time to fight stereotypes right now. 'But if the _Chief_ of Bear Lake calls for a chopper…'

His brother answered the radio call almost immediately.

"It's me. I found Anna and she's hurt, Sam. It's bad…I don't think we have much time. I need a Medevac chopper here as fast as possible. I'm about two kilometers from the Grand river forks. I'll take her east to the nearest clearing."

He put down the radio and turned on the motor, speeding towards the clearing.

It was only when he got there and anchored the boat that he looked at her again. Joseph picked her up with ease, along with his coat that was still wrapped around her, not noticing that he was shivering without it.

He gently set her down on the snow. "Twenty minutes, Anna, the chopper will be here in half an hour or less. You gotta stay with me until then…" He pressed down on her bullet wound, remembering that was what made her regain consciousness earlier, hoping it would have the same effect this time, in addition to stopping the flow of blood.

Nothing.

Using his teeth to take off his mittens, he brushed aside the hair from her forehead. "The Creator made you so strong, Anna," he whispered, his voice shaky in the cold. "Don't you disappoint him now."

_En route from Sioux Lookout, Northern Ontario, Canada _

_24 hours later_

"Whoa…this is cool! Look Dad, they look like big puddles…" Max got on his knees to better see outside the small window and pointed to an endless mosaic of dark, blue lakes beneath the twin-engine seaplane.

"Sit still," his father scolded him, pushing him back into his seat.

Mac Scorpio watched the exchange between father and son and rubbed his temples, making no effort to hide his disbelief. He'd protested against bringing both Dimitri, and especially Max, along, but he'd been no match for Dimitri's insistence the night before.

"I'll come with you," Dimitri had informed him.

"I don't think so. This is now a police investigation. So far, I've kept you abreast of all the latest developments as a courtesy to you…because of all you've done for…"

Dimitri had cut him off. "A courtesy? Excuse me? We're talking about _my_ wife."

"And _my_ niece!"

"I'm coming with you. End of story."

"I don't think so, Mr. Marick."

"Listen," Dimitri had insisted. "Whatever it is that you need… jets, boats, helicopters…whatever resources, you just name it and I'll have them available for us before you can snap your fingers. But I _am_ coming with you."

"I know you have more money than god…and frankly I don't care. It's not going to make a difference in this investigation. The RCMP and the OPP will provide us with whatever we may need…"

"We don't know that, damn it!" Dimitri had slammed his fist down on the desk where Mac had been sitting on. "This isn't a contest! I'm telling you to let me help you, because I'm able. We owe Robin and Alex that much!"

Mac had frowned and gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes and done some fist slamming of his own, but eventually he'd also conceded that Dimitri Marick had a point.

Getting him to realize that he wouldn't leave Max behind was a whole other battle, but one which Dimitri had eventually won too.

So here they were now, the three of them, on a bush plane, headed to a lumber mill in Northern Ontario, where the provincial police had reported finding Alex's Mercedes.

"What's that?" Max asked Dimitri, pointing down below, unaffected by the merciless turbulence.

Dimitri looked out the window and saw the structures his son was looking at. "It's a mine," he told him.

"Like yours?"

Dimitri shook his head, "No…there's no diamond mining here. Even though there could be one day. There are lots of kimberlitic bodies around here. Not yet. It's most likely gold."

"Do you have a gold mine, Dad?"

"No."

"Why not? Don't you like gold?"

Dimitri shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, gold is nice…but diamonds are more challenging. I like challenges."

Dimitri could've sworn he saw Mac smirking out of the corner of his eyes.

Mac's smile quickly faded as a deep gust of wind plummeted the plane, turning his face chalk white.

Dimitri handed him a piece of tree bark. "Here, chew on this."

Mac looked at it skeptically. "What is it?"

"It'll help your motion sickness."

"But what is it?"

"Just take it…"

"I don't see you chewing on that…"

Dimitri chuckled. "I'm used to flying in these things. It's what we use to get around near the Marick mine in the Northwest Territories."

Mac shook his head with a grimace. "Thanks but no thanks." Just as he said the words, the plane took a nose dive into a turn. This time Mac grabbed Dimitri's offering and bit into it with lightning speed. Its bitterness made him cringe. "Ugh…I'm not even going to ask what this is…"

They landed on a choppy lake less than a half hour later.

Mac Scorpio got off the plane first, obviously grateful to be back on solid ground, even though his face had lost its greenish tint thanks to Dimitri's tree bark.

He spotted two provincial police officers in the distance, coming out of the only building in sight.

"I want you to take Max inside and wait for me there," Mac instructed Dimitri.

Dimitri nodded, "Sure." The two Canadian police officers walked towards Mac. One of them extended his hand to Scorpio, frowning.

"We tried to reach you Commissioner, before your plane left the ground…" The officer stopped mid-sentence, staring at Dimitri.

"It's fine. They're with me…" Mac explained.

The officer went on, "We just got a report from Thunder Bay Memorial hospital. A Medevac chopper brought in a woman yesterday with a critical gunshot wound." He paused, "Her description matches that of the woman you're looking for; Dr. Alexandra Marick."

_Later_

They'd been on the ground less than ten minutes when Mac ordered the pilot back into the air.

This time it was Dimitri's stomach that twisted in agony.

He kept seeing the same image. The cottage in Wales. Justin Black stabbing Alex just as he entered it. _If I had arrived only a few minutes later then..._

Then she'd have died.

_I carried you out of that house, covered in blood, barely breathing._

A cold sweat formed along his hair line. The image haunted him, making him a hostage to his fears.

He gasped as Max interrupted his thoughts by elbowing him in the side. "Dad, are we here because we're looking for Mum and Robin?"

Dimitri took a deep breath. "Yeah…we are." He was completely incapable of making up a lie on the spot.

"Are they lost? My friend Jason says women get lost because they can't read maps…"

Dimitri noticed that Max's scarf was still tightly wrapped around his neck. He moved to loosen it, forcing his mind to erase the image. "You're mom's a pretty smart lady…I'm sure she knows how to read a map." It was all he could do to keep his voice level.

"Then why did she get lost?"

"I don't know, Max…" He was barely paying attention to him when he saw Mac Scorpio turning around towards them.

Mac looked at Dimitri unsure what to say. "I managed to get in touch with the ICU at Thunder Bay Memorial Hospital…I have some news..."

Dimitri's eyes darkened as he looked at his son. "Max…put these on would you…" He handed him a headset that was fastened to the seat.

"Why?"

"Because the noise isn't good for your ears."

"I don't want to…" he whined.

"Put them on, Max!"

Max pouted as he took the headset from his father and placed it over his ears. He had a good sense of knowing when Dimitri wasn't up for a debate.

Dimitri turned back to Mac, taking a deep breath, before asking the question he was afraid to have answered. "Tell me what you heard, Mac..."

"I don't know what to tell you," Mac shook his head in disbelief. "The man who brought her in, with the Medevac chopper gave her name as Anna Scorpio."

Dimitri's eyes widened, puzzled. "_Anna_?"

"I don't know what to make of that…how is it possible that Alex would come to Northern Ontario with the man who was supposed to have killed Anna, and then _masquerade as her sister_?"

"None of this makes any sense," Dimitri admitted.

"When Alex worked for Charlotte at Brynn Wydd…" Mac paused, as if searching for the right words. "Charlotte had a reputation of using drugs on her agents, mind altering drugs with potential long term side effects…"

Dimitri narrowed his brows, not sure what exactly Mac was trying to say. "What are you getting at?"

Mac frowned.

Dimitri understood now. The suggestion made him seethe. "Alex is _not_ mentally unstable."

Mac cringed, "I didn't mean…"

"That _exactly_ what you meant."

"No…and if it's what it sounded like, I apologize."

"You've met my wife, Mac. She can be impulsive and she _is_ insane behind the wheel of a car, I'll be the first to admit that, but she is not under the effects of any drugs _or_ mentally unstable."

Mac rubbed his temple. "This is crazy…all of it."

"What did they say? About... the woman who was admitted?" Dimitri asked, checking to see whether Max was paying any attention to them, relieved to see his son ignoring them and staring out the plane's window, unable to hear a thing through the headset.

"Not much…she's in critical condition with a gunshot wound."

"Call them back and ask for details," Dimitri pressed.

"No…" Mac told him. "I'm not making any more calls until we get to that hospital. I need to see what's going on in person."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter XXIX**

_Thunder Bay Memorial Hospital, Thunder Bay, Northern Ontario _

_Several hours later_

Mac Scorpio walked towards the reception as soon as he entered the hospital. "I'm here to inquire about a patient…" he started. From the corner of his eye he saw Dimitri giving Max a gentle nudge, pushing his son towards him.

"Stay with uncle Mac. Don't leave him even for a second, alright?"

Max nodded and Mac stared at Dimitri. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

Dimitri had spotted a sign for the ICU. It made sense to head straight there instead of wasting time with the reception desk. 'I have to know she's okay…' he thought. 'I _have_ to know…before anything else.'

Dimitri ignored Mac's protests and jumped into the first elevator he saw.

When he got off, near the ICU, the first person he spotted was Robin Scorpio.

"Robin!"

She turned around in surprise, "_Dimitri?_ What are _you_ doing here?"

Dimitri embraced her in the busy hallway. "I could ask you the same question, sweetheart…what the hell is going on?"

Robin gave him a smile that let him know how happy she was to see him. "We found my mom, Dimitri…she was living here in, in Ontario, in the bush with a man named Bart…she had amnesia…oh god, it's such a long story."

"_Anna_? You found Anna?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"It turns out my mom didn't die in the boat explosion all those years ago…"

Dimitri wasn't sure he understood. "On the way here, Mac was told they admitted an Anna Scorpio...Robin, is your mom the one who was brought here?"

Robin's eyes darkened. "I don't know where to start…Faison… Cesar Faison, he came after us. He trapped us in the cabin and then my mom, she decided to go after him and he shot her. It's a miracle her friend Joseph found her where Faison had left her to die…in the middle of the forest."

"Is she going to be alright?"

Robin nodded, "We hope so, she's in ICU now. She was in bad shape when she was brought here. She still isn't conscious but Alex is with her." It suddenly seemed to sink in what he'd said a moment ago. "Did you say Mac is here with you?" Robin grinned at the unexpected news. "Oh god, he's going to be beside himself…I can't wait to tell him."

An elderly woman in a white lab coat approached them, "Doctor Scorpio, we're ready for you now."

Dimitri noticed only now that Robin wore a white hospital bracelet on her wrist. "Hey...I thought you said you were alright? What's going on?"

"I missed some doses of my protocol," Robin explained. "So I admitted myself for a few tests. It's just standard procedure, nothing to worry about."

Dimitri gave her a concerned look. "You're sure?"

"I'm fine, really. Why don't you go see if Alex wants some company?"

"Alright," Dimitri nodded. "But before I go, tell me Robin, why didn't you let me in on what you were doing? I don't understand why you kept all this from us?"

"I know...I'm sorry." There was guilt written on her face now. "Bart…the man that told us about my mom, he insisted we tell no one. Alex wanted to tell you, but Bart wouldn't have it. Because of my mom's status with the WSB."

"The black box order?"

"Yeah…" Robin admitted. "It's complicated. I'm not even sure I understand all the ramifications of it. But when Mom left the States the last time, she was wanted for treason. The Black Box order is a warrant to terminate an agent on sight..."

"That's more than a little complicated, Robin..."

"I know...but right now the only thing that matters is that she recovers. Please don't be angry with Alex. She did this for me. Me and mom."

"Is Alex okay?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah, she's good. Exhausted, but overall I think she weathered the last few days better than anyone else."

Dimitri managed a smile. "I'm glad..." He reached out to give her another hug. "I'm glad both of you are alright. And if Alex is looking after your Mom, she'll be fine too. I'm speaking from experience here... "

Robin grinned and pointed towards the end of the hall, "Her room's down there. Alex is…"

Mac, with Max in tow, interupted her and Max's face lit up when he spotted Robin.

"Robin!"

Max flew into her arms. "Dad said you and Mom got lost. How come?"

Robin laughed and squeezed him tight.

Meanwhile Mac glared at Dimitri. "I can't believe you just took off like that…"

Dimitri raised his hand in defense. "I _had_ to see if Alex was alright."

Dimitri could almost see him biting his tongue.

"And how is she?"

Robin took her uncle's hand, before Dimitri could answer. "Mac…I have some incredible news."

Mac hugged his niece once Max let go of her, remembering why he was here. "Sweetheart…you worried me to death! What the hell happened? Tell me you're okay?"

Robin returned his embrace. "I'm fine…but you're not going to believe what I have to tell you. Maybe you should have a seat…"

'_That_ could take a while,' Dimitri thought, sneaking away from them to head towards the ICU.

_Intensive Care Unit_

He spotted Alex from the open doorway.

She was asleep on a chair next to her sister's bed. She wore a wrinkled white lab coat, over a cotton turtleneck, and a pair of faded jeans. Her head rested on her arm and her long hair fell over it, half covering her face, and one of her legs was draped over the chair's thick armrest. A paper chart sat on her other thigh. She looked as though she'd fallen asleep while reading it.

The sight made him smile. Relief, love, gratitude, amusement. A mix of emotions flooded him.

Next to her, Anna was hooked up to a series of machines that hummed in the silence of the room. She looked pale, small and fragile, and so eerily similar to the woman he loved, it sent a chill up his spine. Dimitri breathed a guilty sigh of relief that it wasn't Alex lying there, in her sister's place.

He put his hand on Alex's shoulder, brushing a messy strand of hair from her face.

His touch startled her awake. "Darling, it's me…" he said softly, squeezing her shoulders.

"Dimitri?" Alex rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "_Dimitri?_ How did you get here? Did Shawn…?"

"I saw Robin," he told her, kneeling down to be at eye level with her. "She told me about Anna…that she's alive. It's incredible, Alex."

Alex nodded, running a hand through her hair, shivering now. "It is…it's beyond incredible…oh god, I have so much to tell you."

He glanced towards Anna, "Is she…is she going to be alright?"

Alex turned to her unconscious sister. "I hope so. She was shot less than 48 hours ago. When she was brought in, she was in shock from the blood loss and hypothermia. The bullet wound itself went through surprisingly clean…it fractured one ofher ribs. Anna did more damage by moving around after she was hit. One of her lungs collapsed. They removed the air and blood in order to re-expand it. We had her on oxygen to start but for the past few hours she's been breathing on her own."

"That's good news, yes?"

Alex gave him a lop-sided smile. "Definitely."

"And you?"

"I'm good…tired, but good."

"I wish you'd told me about all this, I was worried like crazy."

Alex held on to his hand. "I'm sorry...it's the last thing I wanted."

"Robin told me Bart insisted you tell no one."

Alex frowned, "He did. But I should've known better than to listen to him...I gave in to his blackmail too damn easily."

Dimitri ran his thumb along her palm. It felt so good to feel her skin against his. To hear her voice in the same room as he was in. He felt angry that she didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth, but he'd be lying if the relief of seeing her here, in one piece, didn't outweigh that anger a thousand times over. "You realize you're going to have to make this up to me..."

This time there was relief in her smile too. She cupped his face in her hands, "You name it...you have no idea how happy I am to see you here."

They heard Anna stir and Alex got up to move to her sister's bedside.

"Rob…Robert?" Anna whispered, staring at Alex with confusion.

"It's me…your sister," Alex said softly, monitoring Anna's vital sings on the monitors above her. "Welcome back."

"I saw…I _saw_ him…" she mumbled, coughing with the effort.

"Don't talk yet…" Alex scolded her, seeing the fluctuations on the monitors as a result of her sister's strained effort.

"Robin…where is…?" Anna asked, ignoring the order.

Alex squeezed her sister's hand. "I said don't talk…your lungs are having a hard enough time just breathing."

"Why?"

"It's what happens when you get shot trying to single-handedly save the world."

"I…I'm sorry I…"

Dimitri saw Alex smirk. "I bet you are…but for now would you stop trying to talk and just rest?"

"Robin?"

"Later."

Anna's eyes locked with her sister's, pleading for a better answer.

"Listen, it's a minor miracle you're here with us at all. You need rest, desperately, to heal and if you won't listen to me, I'll give you something that'll _make_ you fall asleep."

"Blackmail…" Anna whispered, barely audible, making Dimitri smile.

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever it takes, little sis. Whatever it takes."

Anna raised the corner of her lips into a faint smile. "You win. This time."

Alex's eyes met Dimitri. "I really think you got the kinder, gentler twin..."

Dimitri chuckled. "Lucky me. So is she really going to be fine?"

"It's too soon to know for sure, the next twenty four hours will tell us more," she admitted. "But I'm willing to bet she'll be out of here sooner than we think."


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter XXX**

_Thunder Bay Memorial Hospital, Thunder Bay, Canada _

_The next day_

Robin Scorpio couldn't concentrate on the fashion magazine she was reading. She was sure she'd read the same paragraph at least twice already, its content failing to register in her mind. Something about matching your haircut to the shape of your face.

She glanced at her mother, lying in the hospital bed next to her, creasing her brows in her sleep, her lips turning downward into a frown. Sensing she was about to wake up, Robin put down the magazine and got up to squeeze her hand.

"Mom…it's me."

Alex had assured her that, all things considered, Anna was doing as well as could be expected. They'd even moved her from the ICU this morning. Being a physician herself, Robin was fully aware of all that. In fact, she'd gone over the details of her mother's injury at least half a dozen times. Yet, even so, seeing her now, pale and restless, with a bloodstain on the thick bandage just below her ribs, made clinical objectivity next to impossible.

"Robin…?" she whispered, her voice low and raspy.

Robin nodded. "Yeah…"

"Are you alright? The protocol…?"

Robin ran a hand along her mother's cheek. "I'm good." She smirked, "Really. You're the one lying here with a bullet wound. Maybe I should ask you that question?"

"The HIV, is it okay?" She spoke with difficulty, coughing afterwards. "And what about Bart?"

"Bart's doing well enough to drive all the nurses crazy. He said he'll go insane if he has to stay here another day. And the HIV, it's fine, Mom. I took a whole battery of tests and they decided my T-cell count was so good they want to change my drug cocktail. The new one would be almost half the amount of pills. In other words, it's not just good news, it's _really_ good news. The virus is barely detectable in my system at this point."

Anna smiled, returning Robin's grasp with surprising strength. "That's great…"

"It means you should stop worrying about me and concentrate on you. Alex wants to move you to PVH as soon as you're well enough."

"Pine Valley?" Her mother's face looked shocked at the suggestion. "I can't Robin…the black box order…"

"Uncle Mac's working on that as we speak. He's called Sean in Boston and they're doing everything in their power to work something out with the WSB. Shawn flew to Washington this morning. Apparently he's got some connections. Some favours to call in." Robin wasn't sure whether she really wanted to mention Shawn's efforts. '_He's_ only doing it because he feels guilty,' she thought, still angry with him. If he never came near her mother again, it would still be too soon.

"Don't be angry with him…" Anna whispered, as though reading her mind.

"He let you walk right into Faison's trap, after promising us he wouldn't. I hate him for that."

"He didn't _let_ me, Robin. I made a decision and he respected it."

Robin felt her emotions swell as she realized how close she'd come to losing her mother. Again. "Dad would never have let you do what Shawn did."

Anna managed a smile. "I might have had to knock him on the head and tie him up. Besides, Robin, your Dad was different. He loved me. I was his wife."

"It doesn't matter," Robin mumbled. "Don't ever do that again, Mom."

"Robin…" Anna started but Robin wouldn't let her finish.

"I swear, Mom…if you do anything like that again…" She hated that she was crying now. Hated that she felt as though she was ten years old again. _When was the last time I cried and you told me everything was going to be okay?_ Robin had lost enough in her life to know that nothing would ever really be okay, that the best she could hope for was the strength to cope with the things that weren't.

Anna somehow managed to push herself into a sitting position, biting her lips in the process. "Come here, sweetheart…" She put an arm around Robin. "I'm sorry that what I did hurt you, I'm so sorry, sweetheart. But if it meant keeping you alive, I'd do it again. Tomorrow, if I had to…" She paused to catch her breath. "I won't lie and tell you I wouldn't. You mean everything in the world to me."

Robin wiped away a tear. "Why do things like that happen to us, Mom? Why?"

Anna put a strand of Robin's hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek. "I don't know, but I know that having you back in my life makes up for a lot."

Robin let her mother embrace her, wondering how she'd been able to live all these years without that strength to guide her. _Because that strength was inside of me. All that time. Because I'm my mother's daughter…_

Robin glanced up to see her uncle Mac, sporting a huge, unabashed grin, poking his head through the door. Her face lit up into a smile when she saw him.

"Mac!" Robin hastily wiped away the last of her tears.

Mac's grin faded. "I'm sorry. I'm interrupting."

"No, no..." Robin gestured for him to come in "Come in."

Mac couldn't take his eyes off Anna. "It's really true. It is you. In the flesh."

Anna returned his smile, "I never thought I'd see you again..."

"Seeing you makes me want to believe that Rob..." He caught Robin's glance and stopped himself in mid-sentence. Instead he bent down to kiss Anna's cheek. "How _are _you?"

"I've felt better, but Alex says I'm doing great, all things considered."

"That's really good news." Mac couldn't stop staring. "I, uh...I'm not sure what to say. I feel like I'm looking at a stranger, but it's you."

"I know…I'm still getting used to...to being Anna Scorpio again."

Mac caught the regret in her face. "Robin says you had amnesia?"

Anna nodded, "I did, but Bart had a full dossier of my life's details on him, at the cabin. I knew who I was…on paper, at least."

Mac gave her a puzzled look, "So you _knew_ you had a home in Port Charles? A home and a family?"

Anna frowned, not wanting to be absolved of those things of which she _was_ guilty. But at the same time wanting him to know she'd never have abandoned her daughter. "I knew about everything. Everything except for Robin."

A doctor stepped into the room and motioned for Robin to see him outside.

Unlike Mac, Robin was well aware of the effort it took for her mother to sit up and have a conversation. "I'll be right back." She whispered to Mac. "She needs to rest, okay? Don't let her talk too much."

Mac waited for Robin to leave the room. "I don't understand, Anna? You knew who you were, and yet you made no efforts to contact your friends or family?"

"I believed I was a traitor. That's what Bart's dossier told me. I believed I sold my soul to the devil and that my husband died because of it."

"Bart Milton told you that?" Mac's puzzlement was replaced by anger.

"It's not his fault. He didn't know any different. It's what the WSB told him and I didn't have any memories to tell me otherwise."

"So you believed him?" Mac's heart went out to her. 'How could you have believed that?' he wondered. 'You, of all people, you'd have given your life for Robbie.'

"By the time Bart realized that maybe the facts were wrong…" she paused, coughing. "By that time, I was convinced that even if I wasn't the cold blooded traitor I was made out to be, Robert was dead. I had no one left to go home to, except for you, and maybe Sean. At the time I thought the two of you were better off without me in your lives."

Mac sighed. "Oh Anna…what a mess."

Anna stared at him, pensive. "I know you raised Robin…" The effort of speaking was getting harder and she felt her lungs rebel, making her cough again. "I don't know how to begin to thank you for that…"

Mac put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to thank me for that, Anna. It was a privilege to raise your daughter."

"I _do_ want to thank you…"

"What are you going to do now?" Mac asked her. "Are you going to come back home to Port Charles?"

The question seemed to take her aback. "I can't leave Canada yet…the black box order still exists."

"Shawn O'Malley and I are working on changing that as we speak. O'Malley has some amazing connections in Washington and he's dead serious about using them for you."

"I don't know what to say."

Mac grinned. "You don't have to say anything. All you have to do is get well and come home."

Anna's face was still serious. More apprehensive than he'd ever remembered it. "Tell me, Mac…how is everybody in Port Charles? How are Bobbie and Felicia?"

Mac smirked. "Do you have a few weeks?"

This time she managed a smirk. "I'm sure if it were up to my sister, I'd spend another month here."

Mac's expression was pensive too now. "Things are different in Port Charles now, Anna. Back then; with you and my brother and Sean, I know we never had it easy either, but we fought the bad guys and sometimes…sometimes we won a battle or two. Nowadays the victories are so small, I wonder if it's even worth the fight."

"I know Robert would tell you it is…"

"The mob has so much control in Port Charles, so much power, at times I look back and I ask myself, 'how did it get to this point? Was I the one that allowed it to happen?'"

"All the more reason to keep fighting then…" she added softly.

He nodded, "I do, but it seems for every one step I take up the ladder, I end up going down two. It's like treading water in an ocean. It's pointless. Eventually you'll drown." He paused, embarrassed by his confession. "I could really use you on my side, Anna…at the PCPD."

She raised her brows. "This is the second time I don't know what to say."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, cringing. "God, I'm being an idiot…I don't mean to pressure you." He smiled, "You're hurt and just came back into the land of the living…and here I am asking you to help me take down my enemies. "

"I appreciate your faith in me, Mac but I can't even think about tomorrow yet, never mind weeks, _months_ down the road…"

He squeezed her shoulder, remembering Robin's earlier admonition to take it easy on her. "You're right, Anna. The only thing that matters right now is that you get well. You have a brand new family now. A sister, a nephew, and brother-in-law…they'll probably want you to join them in Pine Valley."

"I don't know Mac…"

Mac watched as the effort to talk made her cough again. He gave her a gentle push back into her pillow. "Shhh…don't talk anymore."

She nodded in agreement. "I think you're right."

Mac waited until she fell asleep before leaving. A smile stayed on his face as headed out of the room. "Welcome back, Anna," he whispered. "Welcome back where you belong."

_Later_

Much later, after long after both Mac and Robin Scorpio left Anna's room, Joseph Thunderclap stood at her door, watching her sleep through the narrow window.

He hadn't planned on coming back here, even though he hadn't seen her since he'd dropped her off at the hospital over three days ago. Joseph hated the thought of saying good-bye because a good-bye meant an end. An end to a friendship that had lasted over a decade. There was no word for good-bye in Ojibwa and Joseph knew why. Wishing someone farewell was a distinctly white concept, one that he wouldn't pretend to truly understand. 'What's the point of making a difficult thing even harder? Of cementing a loss?'

He had found her just in time as she lay dying in the frozen forest.

Finding Anna had been part of the Creator's plan. _He_ didn't want her to die. The Creator had other plans for Anna Scorpio. A family to love, a life to reclaim. Who was he to mourn the fact that he, Joseph Thunderclap, wasn't meant to be a part of those plans? It's the way things were meant to be. One didn't fight the natural order of things.

"That doesn't mean I won't miss you," he admitted. He saw her stir in her sleep and open her eyes slowly.

Joseph moved away from the window so that she wouldn't spot him.

But it was too late.

From her bed, barely awake, Anna caught a glimpse of her friend's large frame near the doorway. Her first though was that she was dreaming. She forced her pupils to focus. "Joseph?" she called out, her voice still hoarse. "Joseph?"

She caught a furtive movement through the window and rolled her eyes in frustration. _Ah come on Joseph…I know you don't believe in good-byes, but you can't just take off without letting me thank you._

"Joseph!" she called out towards the door, with as much force as her lungs allowed.

No response.

"Damn it," she cursed, pushing herself off the bed. As she did, she felt the tug of an IV tube in her arm. Without thinking, she ripped it out, closing her eyes and wincing in the process. She stood up, shakily at first, then, testing her legs, took a few tentative steps away from the bed.

She spotted him in the distance and managed to pick up her pace. "Joseph…wait."

He turned around, unable to hide from her in the long hallway. "Anna? What are you doing up?"

She caught her breath. "I can't believe you weren't going to stop and say good-bye…did you think I would let you leave? Just like that?"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Slow down, Anna. Are you even supposed to be out of bed?"

She looked at him angrily. "Don't change the subject! Why didn't you come in when I called you? Were you honestly going to leave?"

Joseph pursed his lips guiltily. "You know I don't like good-byes, Anna."

She raised her eyebrows. "After ten years? You saved my life…I'm here today because of you! Alex told me that you were the one that brought me here. You were on the Medevac chopper."

Joseph shook his head. "I didn't save you, Anna. The Creator was the one who didn't want you to go yet."

"But _you_ called that helicopter…" she reasoned.

He smirked. "Actually my brother did."

Anna sighed. "You saved my life, Joseph. I know you did. Deny it as much as you want." She couldn't remember when the act of standing up last required this much effort. She felt lightheaded and leaned against the wall.

"Look…it doesn't matter, who did what. You're here. That's all that matters. You have a family now."

She looked at him with unease.

"What is it?"

"I'm scared, Joseph," she admitted, telling him what she couldn't tell Mac. Or Alex. Or even Robin. He'd been her friend and confidante for so long. He knew her better than anyone.

"You're scared of going back to the States?" he asked, puzzled.

"No…not that."

Her face was a shade paler than it was before and he squeezed her shoulder. "Anna…what is it? Tell me?" Anna was many things but fearful wasn't one of them.

"I'm scared I didn't kill him."

Joseph didn't understand. "Kill who?"

"Cesar Faison. The man I shot. The man who blew up the tanker fourteen years ago and killed Robert. I'm so scared that I didn't kill him. That if I survived, he survived too."

She wanted him to comfort her, to tell her she was being unreasonable, that there was no way he could have survived. God, how much she needed to hear those words.

"Maybe he did survive."

"If he did…" she lost control of her voice now. "Then I can't do it, Joseph…I can't face him again. I can't stand the thought of him coming after Robin or my sister."

"You can't think about that," he scolded her, gently.

"How can I not?" she demanded. "He took my entire life and turned it upside down. I lost fourteen years because of Cesar Faison! And he keeps doing it. The only way to end it is to kill him!"

"You lost fourteen years because you had amnesia, Anna. Because of your injuries and because Bart wouldn't tell you about Robin. Don't give this guy more power over you than he already has."

"What if he's alive, Joseph? What if he'll come back again?"

" '_What if he's not alive? What if he is?'_" He repeated after her, softly, wanting her to see there was no point to her fears. "If he is, what are you going to do? Stay in Bear Lake and hide?"

"I don't know, Joseph. I don't want to risk him hurting Robin or Alex…" She was dizzy now and closed her eyes.

"You're going to go back to America, to be with your family. And whatever happens, happens."

"I can't face him again…" she repeated, wishing he'd understand.

"If the Creator wants you to face him again, then you will."

She started to cry, "I can't, Joseph…"

Joseph raised her chin with his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Yes, you can. You're hurt now. Hurt and tired, and that's why you're afraid but you're so strong, Anna. You can't hide from your future, from the people that love you, because you're scared."

"What if he comes after Robin?"

"Then you'll protect her."

"Joseph…"

"Don't worry, Anna. There's no point."

He watched the tears falling down her cheeks. He hated seeing her hurt, and he felt as though he might cry too. But now wasn't the time. They were marking the end of a good friendship and she deserved better. So he smiled. "Hey, did you forget you're an excellent shot? Chances are probably good he didn't make it."

Seeing her now reminded him why he hated goodbyes.

"I'm going to go now, Anna."

"Please don't…" Anna knew she had everything she wanted now, everything and more. She had a daughter, a sister, a f_amily_. Then why did she feel so completely alone right now?

He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her forehead, "I'm going to miss you."

"Will I see you again?"

Joseph shook his head, "I don't think so." Seeing her again would only mean another goodbye and he already knew he wouldn't have the strength for that.

Anna returned his kiss. "Thank you…for being my friend."

"It was easy."

She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, he was gone, leaving her alone in the hospital hallway. "Joseph…?" she whispered to no one.

Silence.

Anna leaned against the wall, closing her eyes again. Following him down the hallway had left her completely drained.

"_Anna!"_

"What in god's name are you doing out here?" An angry, disbelieving, and now familiar voice, forced Anna to open her eyes again.

"Alex?"

Alex stared at her sister in shock. Anna was white as a sheet, a thin stripe of blood trickled down her arm where she had ripped out the IV and it was obvious she barely had enough energy to keep standing.

Alex debated whether to find a wheelchair, but instead she draped her sister's arm around her shoulder.

"Hold on to me."

Even with a large part of her weight now on her sister, Anna suddenly felt impossibly dizzy. "I don't feel so good…" she admitted, feeling as though she might throw up any second.

"For god's sake, Anna…what in the world are you doing out her? And why did you rip out your IV? It didn't occur to you it might be there for a reason?"

Anna groaned. The hospital hallway spun around in front of her and she wasn't sure how she made it back to the bed. Just that Alex was pushing her towards it now.

"Lie down," she ordered, while re-inserting the IV tube into her sister's arm.

"Your hands are shaking," Anna pointed out, grateful that she was less dizzy, now that she was no longer standing up.

"You're stressing me," Alex shot shot back tersely. "Are you _trying_ to kill yourself or what?"

Anna groaned, "Alex…come on. I'm fine. I had to say good-bye to Joseph."

"He couldn't come into your room to do that?"

"Yeah, well…you'll have to take that one up with him."

"Do you even realize how close you came to losing your life few days ago?" The exasperation in her sister's voice made Anna feel both guilty and defensive.

"Alex, I'm fine! I got dizzy from standing up too long that's all. I'm not going to die."

Alex bit her lip. "Sure, you're fine." She held out her hand, "Give me your arm. You're still bleeding, and god knows you can't afford to lose any more blood."

Anna sank back into her pillow, "These few drops are not going to do me in. Trust me."

Alex gently sealed the cut, and turned away from her sister, "Massive blood loss can cause other problems…" Her voice softened finally softened. "Anemia for one."

Her sister's eyes darkened and a sudden realization dawned on Anna. "Robin says you have anemia...did you get it from…"

Alex wouldn't let her finish. "This isn't about me." She sighed. "You know, you really are as crazy as everyone tells me you are. I'm slowly starting to realize that."

Anna took her sister's hand in hers, "Hey... I'm sorry I worried you. But I had to say goodbye to my friend." She smirked, "It's funny, the more I think about it, the more I realize that you and Robin are so much alike. You're both gentle and smart. You're also cool and calm, except when you're worried about the people you care about. She takes after you, Alex."

Alex smiled a lop-sided smile. "Mac tells me that Max is just like you. Heaven help me."

Anna laughed. "Thanks…"

Alex sighed. "I'm really glad you're going to be okay. Keep it that way, okay?"

"I will." Anna gave her a mock salute. "It's been a while since I've had family fussing over me. Give me a little bit of time to get used to it, okay?"

"Deal." She was serious now. "I have some news I wanted to share with you, before you decided to go for a walk, that is. Shawn called me."

"What did he say?"

"The WSB is ready to suspend the black box order, considering the extenuating circumstances of your case and what happened this past week. They're willing to let you come into the States to recover from your injuries, as long as you're willing to face a closed door hearing with the WSB once you're well."

Anna's stared past Alex, into space. "So they want me to plead my case?"

"Shawn thinks you have an excellent chance of getting all charges dropped, especially considering Faison's latest actions. He said he'll testify on your behalf, as will I, and Mac and Sean Donely. Even Bart insisted he'll make the trip down to Washington DC once he's well enough to travel. You've got a lot of friends now."

"I'm not sure, Alex. I'm not sure if I'm ready for this…" Irrational fear gripped her but then she remembered her conversation with Joseph. _'You can't hide from your future. From the people that love you, because you're scared.'_

Then she heard only her sister's voice; "I think you're well enough to be moved soon, Anna. I'd like to fly you out to Pine Valley Hospital the day after tomorrow. What do you think?"


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter XXXI**

_Pine Valley Hospital, Pine Valley, PA _

_Andrassy Foundation Headquarters_

_Two days later_

Robin Scorpio read the sign on the office door, then glanced downward to the box she was holding in her hands.

She'd called the hospital earlier, to make sure he was working. She'd even planned what she was going to say. Yet now, she was hesitant, unable to bring herself to knock on the door. 'Why am I nervous? It's a simple apology, nothing more.'

She was about to knock when the door opened in front of her, startling her. "David…I mean… Dr. Hayward."

"Doctor Scorpio," a welcoming smile spread across his tanned face. "What a nice surprise." His charcoal-coloured eyes lingered on hers. "I guess you're here to see Alex. She's gone downstairs, to the lab to…"

"No," Robin interrupted him. "I came to see _you_."

David raised his eyebrows. "Me?"

"I…I think I owe you an apology."

"An apology? For what?" He gestured towards her aunt's chair. "Why don't you come inside."

Robin nodded, wanting to get out what she wanted to say before the words jumbled in her mind. "Before I left with Alex, I came in here and accused you of changing my schedule."

David sat down, running a hand along the slight stubble on his chin. "Oh…that."

"My schedule changed the day after I told you I was HIV positive, so I assumed it had to be you. I didn't even give you a chance to explain."

"Look…the scheduling thing. I shouldn't have gone behind your back like that. You had a right to be angry."

His reaction amused her. "You know, I'm starting to agree that Alex is lucky to have you for a friend. You can stop covering for her now. I know she changed my schedule, not you. I should never have jumped to conclusions like that…just because I had some preconceptions about you."

David chuckled. "You thought I was an arrogant jerk."

Robin blushed. "I guess you could say we didn't get off on the best foot."

"We didn't," he admitted. "And_ that_ was my fault."

"Still…it didn't justify the way I came in here and accused you of something you didn't do. It was uncalled for and unprofessional."

He smiled, his gaze unwaivering. "Don't worry about it. It's water under the bridge. Besides, I probably deserved it for something or other…"

"Geez…would you just accept my apology?"

This time he was the one who blushed. "It's hard for me accept an apology, 'cause I hate apologizing myself," he admitted.

"Yeah, I bet."

He eyed the box in her hands. It was the colour of aquamarine and had a label on it that was written in a foreign language. "So, uhm,…is that for me?"

Robin nodded. "Since you like chocolates so much…"

"Belgian?"

Robin shook her head, liking the way his eyes lit up. "Even better. Swiss." She opened the box for him, "Actually they're not really chocolates…I discovered these when I lived in Paris. Sometimes, I'd take the high speed train and spend a weekend in Switzerland. They have a chain of pastry shops there and they make these little biscuits with cream fillings in all kinds of flavours. Chocolate, strawberry, mocha…you name it. The thing is, because they use this special handmade dough and no preservatives, you have to consume them within three days. They can't be exported for that reason and this pastry shop only has locations in Switzerland."

David was awestruck. "You flew to Switzerland to bring me chocolates?"

Robin laughed. "Well…no. Not quite. They have this agreement with FedEx to ship them all over the world within 24 hours." She handed him one. "These ones, for instance, were handmade in Zurich yesterday…"

David took it from her. "Handmade chocolates couriered in from Switzerland. I can't compete with that, can I? You're good at this apology stuff."

Robin eyed him. "Well?"

"Hmmm…good." He grinned. "_Very_ good. I can see why the Swiss don't want to share these with the world"

"They melt in your mouth, but only when they're fresh."

He took another one out of the box. "Apology accepted." He paused, "On one condition, that you'll accept my offer to take you out for dinner."

Robin was certain he'd have long forgotten about his initial offer at the coffee shop. "I'm not sure what to say…"

"Yes?"

Robin smiled, "Alright, yes. But just so you'll accept my apology."

David laughed, "Of course."

Robin turned around when she heard the door open and saw her aunt walk through it. David reached into the box to grab another chocolate. "Hi, Alex."

Her aunt smiled as her gaze went from the box of chocolate to Robin. "So…those are the chocolates you were talking about. Nice."

"How's my mom?" Robin asked her.

"Good. I think she should be able to go home in a couple of days. I'd like to run a few tests in regards to the scarring on her brain tissue, but I can do that when she's an outpatient. In fact, I think she might be a better patient if we let her leave the hospital."

"That's great news." Robin stole one last glance at Hayward. "I should go."

Alex gave her wave, before sitting down, "See you at Wildwind." She narrowed her eyes when she caught David's smile.

"What are you grinning at?"

"She's beautiful, Alex."

"Robin?"

"There's something about her…she's so..._spirited_."

"Stop that. You're talking about my niece. My sweet, _young_ niece." Alex shook her head in disbelief then dipped her fingers into his box of chocolates, pulling out two of them, "What's in these things?"

David pulled the box away from her, "Hey…what do you think you're you doing? These aren't just any old chocolates. They're handmade biscuits couriered in from Switzerland. You can't just eat them as if they were tic tacs."

Alex smiled sweetly, "I could always put in a good word for you…with Robin."

David returned her smile with an equally sweet one of his own, quickly pushing the box back in her direction, "Why don't you help yourself? The ones with the chocolate topping are particularly good."

She bit into another one, "Hmm…these _are_ amazing, David. Maybe you should change her schedule for real. I think you two are getting really good at this apology stuff."

David checked his watch and took out two more chocolates, placing them on Alex's desk, before closing the box. "I have to go, Josie finishes school early today." He looked at his box. "She's going to love these." He turned to Alex, "Remember…put in a good word for me to Robin."

Alex smirked, "Sure."

"Thanks. I owe you one."

A smile spread across her face as she ate another chocolate. "I'm not the one you have to worry about, David. You might want to offer Anna one of these instead…"

_Pine Valley Hospital, Patient Floor_

_Later_

Anna bit her nails as she stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep even though it was well past midnight.

"I'm going to go insane if I spend one more night in this sterile room…hell, I'm halfway there, I'm already talking to myself…"

The hospital room smelled of antibacterial solvents and medication.

In all her years at Bart's cabin, she'd gotten used to utter silence at night. A heavy silence of complete isolation, interrupted only occasionally by the cry of the loon or the howling of a wolf. Now she was kept awake by the whirring of machines and the sound of footsteps in the hallways, twenty-four hours a day.

"This is great…I manage to live through a tanker explosion, spend more than a decade in a bear ridden Canadian wilderness, survive a near fatal shooting, only to lose my sanity now, in a Pennsylvania hospital…" she mumbled to no one.

A figure suddenly appeared at her door, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hey there…up for one more visit?"

Anna couldn't see the man's face. It was hidden behind a bright bouquet of mixed flowers. But she recognized his voice.

"Shawn?" Her face lit up at the sight of him, grinning as a she caught the time on the digital clock on her bedside table. "Aren't visiting hours over?"

He returned her grin. "I snuck in through the back door."

"Ah…a man after my own heart." She pushed herself up on her pillows. "I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again."

He bent down to kiss her cheek, avoiding her eyes. "You look good."

She smirked, "Liar."

He set down the flowers. "How's Bart?"

"He's getting better. He was released from Thunder Bay Memorial two days ago. I spoke with him on the phone and he told me he's going to close down the cabin and move to Bear Lake."

"Glad to hear it." He handed her a gift-wrapped box, "Here, I brought you something else too."

"A gift?"

"A get-well present."

"What is it?"

The halogen lighting of the hospital room brought out the green colour of his eyes. "Open it."

Anna lifted the lid off the box and lifted out a wooden chessboard. "My favourite game," she said, delighted. "You remembered!"

She undid the clasp on the wooden board, opening it up and smiled when she saw the figurines. She took out the king and cupped it in her hand. "Oh wow…these are amazing…just exquisite."

Each of the thirty-two pieces was hand carved in jade.

"This is some gift. Where in the world did you get it?"

Her enthusiasm made him smile. "I thought you might be bored here and could use some entertainment."

"Except I don't have anyone to play with."

"I suppose I could sneak in again tomorrow night, if you're up to losing that is."

Anna laughed, then moved a protective hand to her waist. "As if…_Sir_ O'Malley."

Shawn sat down on the bed next to her, noticing that her hand still rested where she'd been hit. "You okay?"

Anna nodded. "Yeah…it just hurts to laugh."

"Sorry."

"No…don't be. What I mean is…it feels good too."

"I suppose it serves you right. For laughing at the thought of me beating you at chess."

She laughed again. "Nice. By the way, you don't have to sneak in, in the middle of the night you know. You're not blacklisted."

Shawn picked up one of the chess pieces and toyed with it, without looking at her. "You said you weren't sure whether you'd ever see me again, Anna. Maybe that would've been better. I'm not exactly everyone's favourite guy after letting you walk into Faison's trap. Because of what I did, you got shot and almost lost your life."

"I made the decision, Shawn. Not you. You helped me carry it out, that's all."

"Your daughter doesn't quite see it that way."

Anna pushed herself up further, so she could reach for his hand, "You helped me save her life, Shawn. Robin's _and_ Bart's. Besides, Robin…she'll come around. She's stubborn."

He chuckled. "Yeah…that she is. Wonder where she got that from?" His expression changed and he looked pensive now. "She loves you to pieces. She almost lost it after she realized what you did and thought she was going to lose you again…I was scared for her, Anna."

Anna bit her lip. "Sometimes it makes me wonder…what I did to deserve her."

"She didn't turn out that way by accident, Anna. She was loved as a child. You see that every time you look at her. At the way she lives her life."

"I _did_ love her, Shawn, with all my heart. I know that. But it wasn't enough to remember her."

"Anna…"

She closed her eyes, sighing. "Yeah…I know. It's not my fault."

"It's the truth," he said softly. "It's _not_ your fault." He caught the regret in her face and changed the subject. "How are the headaches? Any better?"

Anna nodded, "Yes, much better."

"What does Alex say?"

"Alex? She says I'm certifiably insane."

Shawn laughed. "Is that an official diagnosis?"

"Well…according to Robin, she's a brilliant doctor. Who am I to dispute anything she says?" Anna paused, giving him a smirk, "Let me tell you this…if I don't get out of here soon, whatever shreds of sanity I have left, _will_ be lost."

"You'll be out soon enough."

"No, not soon enough. Tomorrow."

Shawn raised his brows. "You're kidding, right?"

Her smile was mischievous now. "No. Not at all. So what do you say, want to help me?"

"Good god, Anna…just how much trouble do you plan on getting me into?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. How much trouble are you up for?"

He laughed. "You might be surprised…" Then he pulled a file folder out, watching her reaction as he opened it.

Her amusement was gone. "Is that from the WSB?"

"They want to meet with you as soon as you're well enough."

"I know they do," Anna told him. "I need to know what my chances are of getting them to drop the black box order."

"Considering you're still alive as we speak. I'd say the chances are pretty good."

"I'm serious…"

"For the longest time they believed you sold them out. That you betrayed them for Cesar Faison and were indirectly responsible for the death of your husband, Robert Scorpio. The black box order was issued as a means of self preservation."

"I loved Robert. I could never hurt him."

"The WSB knew that you'd been a double agent once before, and, lets face it, back then you certainly made it seem as though you were becoming fast friends with Cesar Faison."

"Of course I was! That was the plan," she said, defensively. "It was the only way we could take him down. By making him think I was on his side."

"Except you played your part too well."

"Do _you_ believe me?" she asked him softly.

"Robert followed you onto that tanker. Why would he do that, if he believed you betrayed him?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I've met a lot of convincing liars in my line of work, Anna. People that are so good at playing the game of double cross, they can't even be honest with themselves anymore. I've also learned that actions really do speak louder than words. You almost lost your life trying to protect your daughter." His green eyes finally met hers. "I wouldn't have come here tonight, Anna. If I didn't believe you."

"You didn't come here because you thought you owed me something?"

Shawn shook his head. "What would I owe you? I've resigned my position with Dimitri Marick."

"You resigned because you let me to go to Faison?"

Shawn smirked. "Hey, not everything's your fault. I knew I was finished with my job, the day I agreed to accompany your sister to find you. It was a breach of trust with my employer. Dimitri Marick _had_ to fire me. I wouldn't have expected anything less. I resigned only to save him the trouble."

"So why did you do it? If you knew it would cost you your job?" Anna didn't understand.

Shawn shrugged his shoulders. "Truthfully? I don't know. I do know there are very few people that I truly admire and your sister is one them. I watched her go through hell and back last year when Max was kidnapped. Alex has never asked me for anything. I knew she wouldn't unless there was no other way."

"You gave up your job out of respect for my sister? Geez, are you sure it's knighthood not sainthood you're aiming for?"

Shawn smiled, still fiddling with one of her jade chess pieces. Talking to him came so easily. There was no awkwardness and Anna didn't want him to leave.

"Nah, knighthood's good. I'm telling you Sir O'Malley has a certain ring to it." He looked at her, "Who knows why we do the things we do? Maybe it was time to move on. For the longest time I used my work to run away from the things I didn't want to face. Maybe it's time to stop that too."

"What are you going to do?"

"Before Lauren died, we decided that once the baby was born, we'd leave the Secret Service and open a private investigation agency. I used to think it was our dream, but it was _my _dream too. And I'm starting to realize that I'm still around to make it happen."

Anna smiled. "Where?"

"I'm not sure yet. Maybe Chicago, or Washington." He grinned, "Maybe even Pine Valley." He picked glanced at his watch, "God it's late…I should go."

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For stopping by," Anna said. "And for the gift."

A pair of jade green eyes lingered on hers. "You're welcome."

"Will I hear from you again?"

"Of course…"

He paused, as if realizing he'd answered the question far too quickly. "What I mean is... I'll update you on what the WSB has in mind."

"Thanks for that too. You didn't have..."

He didn't let her finish. "No…thank _you_." Shawn turned off her bedside lamp, bending down to kiss her cheek, "I know I didn't have to." He paused, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. "You should get some rest if you're really going to break out of here tomorrow."

"I will."

"I believe you."

It felt good to hear him say the words. "I'm glad, because, it matters to me…whether you believe me or not."

He turned around and smiled a smile she couldn't see, but knew was there.

"Goodnight, Anna."


	32. Final Chapter and Epilogue

Big thanks to mmdza, Jennifer, abercrombiegrl95, dafan and grdkaitlyn for your feedback! I hope all those who stuck through the first two stories, enjoyed the end to the trilogy!

-Roadrunnerz

**Chapter XXXII**

_Port Charles Cemetery, Port Charles, New York_

Anna bent down towards the gravestone, holding her side as she tried to kneel on the soft, wet earth beneath her. She winced as it reminded her that she really shouldn't be here just yet, least of all trying to kneel down.

She didn't care.

Anna knew she had to come here and wouldn't be able to rest easy until she did. Shawn had accompanied her, they'd driven her here from Pine Valley, and now she spotted his silhouette waiting patiently near the gates of the cemetery.

She hadn't wanted him to come along, but he'd insisted, in spite of her protests, and now she was surprisingly glad to see him there before turning her gaze back towards the gravestone.

**Robert Xavier Scorpio  
**_Beloved husband and father_

'Who died too soon,' she wanted to add, wishing she could chisel it onto the cold, hard stone. She pressed the palm of her hand against it. It felt like a block of ice. Cold and wet.

It was raining again, a soft wintry drizzle.

"I know you told me it was alright to let go…but I couldn't. I'm sorry darling…there's so much I have to live for now."

She could still hear his voice. '_I missed you so much, luv.'_

The knowledge of what she'd done suddenly made her cry. "Don't think I don't miss you too. Please don't think that…but I wasn't ready yet."

Anna closed her eyes in the rain, and this time she saw his face smiling. _'I also told you it was okay to fight, and you did. I'm proud of you, luv.'_

"Oh God…" his imaginary voice made her heart skip a beat, "You really were there? Weren't you?"

'_I'm always with you. I always was, even when you couldn't remember me.'_

She managed a smile. "I never could push you away, could I?"

_'Never.'_

"I want you to understand why I couldn't come with you…"

'_You don't have to explain…I think there's someone behind you, luv.'_ She saw his face, one last time; winking at her.

Anna felt Shawn's presence before he kneeled down next to her, something he did without making a sound. "It's raining harder now," he pointed out. "Do you want to come back later, so you don't catch a cold?"

She turned to face him, hoping the rain would mask her tears. "No."

She tried to push herself off the ground, trying not to let it show just how much effort it required.

It was a pointless façade. One he saw right through.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he moved his arms underneath hers, to pull her up, one of his hands resting protectively against her waist. "Take it easy," he whispered into her ears, his own face wet from the rain.

"I feel like an invalid these days," she told him hating her physical weakness, as she held on to him.

"Give it some time," he reminded her, his voice as gentle and confident as it had been the first day he came to see her in the hospital. Her own patience was sorely limited and, by comparison, Shawn's seemed infinite. "Time heals all wounds." He saw her tears. "Even yours."

_"Comme je t'aimerais si tu savais pleurer…"_

Anna looked at him, puzzled, as they started the walk towards the car. "What did you say?"

He smiled. "I was just thinking of an old French song, about a guy who meets this incredible, young woman. She's beautiful and confident and strong but she doesn't know how to be vulnerable, to open her heart, so he leaves her, saying, 'How much I would love you if you knew how to cry.'"

"I guess that's one problem I don't have…" she wiped away her last tears. "I've cried too much lately, Shawn. For Robert and Robin…for the things I lost and the things I couldn't remember. I don't want to mourn anymore, I want to live. To be there for my daughter, my sister and her family. I want to be a part of their lives."

"You will be."

She nodded, letting him drape his waterproof jacket over her shoulders. "I will."

The rain fell harder now, and to Anna's surprise, Shawn's pace didn't quicken in response. Instead he grinned and lifted his face towards the sky. "So…I…I've been thinking…how would you feel about going into business with me?"

"Business?"

"You know, the PI agency. I was thinking I could probably use a partner, someone who's familiar with law enforcement and investigative procedures."

Anna's expression was unreadable in the rain.

Shawn's smile faded, even as he made an effort to keep it.

"I don't know what to say…" was her response.

"You…look, Anna, you don't have to give me an answer right away. I was thinking, now that the WSB has cleared your name, you were saying a couple of days ago, that you wanted to go back to work…it was just an idea. If it's too soon..."

Her face turned towards his, smiling now, amused at the disappointment he couldn't hide, no matter how hard he tried. She loved him for it. "Actually I do know what to say. For someone who's about to open a PI agency, it certainly takes you a long time to pick up the clues that I've been dropping all week."

He looked at her puzzled. "Clues?"

She grinned. "I kept mentioning work around you, in the hopes that maybe…you'd ask me to give you a hand with the PI agency."

A broad, relieved smile spread across his face, "Thanks…I think."

The rain fell harder still, drenching them.

"_Devane-O'Malley Investigations_…I like the sound of that."

"I was thinking more along the lines of, _O'Malley-Devane Investigations._"

"We could always bet on it."

"Or we could wager a game of chess…"

Anna laughed, "Looks like _Devane-O'Malley Investigations_ it is."

Shawn's throaty laugh joined hers. "We'll see about that."

Shawn kissed her wet cheek as they walked through the cast-iron gates of the cemetery, towards his car.

**Epilogue**

_Wildwind Estate, Pine Valley, PA _

_One month later _

_Christmas_

"That _has_ to be them," Alex pointed out excitedly, when she saw the black airport limousine pull up on the grounds.

"It's cold out here," Dimitri told her, rubbing his hands together.

Almost a foot of snow covered the grounds of the estate, making it look like a winter wonderland. It was a white blanket that lit up the night along with the Christmas lights that encircled the old, stone building. Light shone from the windows too, as most of the guests were already inside, enjoying the warmth and the festivities.

A smile spread across Alex's face, as she recognized the occupants of the car.

She wrapped the shawl she wore around her body and ran towards the car.

"You made it! Finally!" Alex laughed as she embraced the large, blonde woman. "So much for Swiss punctuality."

"Oh Alex, the traffic here. It's crazy!" Heidi returned her hug, a huge smile on her face. "You have no idea how much I've missed you, Alex. Talking on the phone is just not the same. Especially with my English…"

"Your English is perfect, my friend. Just perfect." She knelt down on the snow when she saw the two-year old that held on to Heidi's hand. The little girl had eyes that were bluer still than those of her mother and dark blond hair that was neatly tied into a pony tail. "You've gotten so big, sweetheart," Alex said, pulling the girl into a hug.

Heidi laughed. "Well, if Phyllis takes after me and her Dad, she's not going to be a tiny little thing like you."

Alex smiled as she picked up Heidi's daughter. "We should get you inside, where it's nice and warm."

"Let me take that for you," Dimitri insisted when he saw Heidi pull a huge suitcase out of the trunk of the car.

Alex grinned, "Judging from the size of that, it's going to be a long stay I hope."

Heidi looked awestruck as she entered the estate. "You didn't tell me you lived in a castle."

Alex smiled as she set down Phyllis, "Let me take you up to your room."

Dimitri pulled Alex aside, before she made her way up the oak staircase, "I'll meet you back downstairs in a few minutes."

The little girl was already halfway up the steps to the bedrooms, half running, half climbing.

Heidi stared at the oil paintings that lined the hallway. "These are incredible..."

Alex shrugged her shoulders, holding on to her friend's hand. "They're just things."

Heidi smirked. "But they're really old and _really_ expensive things." She sighed as she took a moment to observe her friend. "You look so good, Alex. So different from a year ago." It was the truth. To say her firend looked splendid would have been an understatement. Her dark brown hair was swept back into an elegant updo, held back with a magnificent gold clip, encrusted with diamonds and rubies that twinkled in the lights of the hallway and matched both the dangling earrings that framed her face and the thick bracelets that covered her wrists. Heidi couldn't imagine anyone else wearing something so stunning and making it look so perfectly natural.

Alex blushed at the compliment. "Thanks…I feel good. Life's been generous to me lately."

Heidi picked up her daughter. "No one deserves it more than you."

"You do too, Heidi."

The Swiss woman smiled, "I'm happy. My little girl makes me very happy."

Alex's expression turned serious, "Will you stay for a while?"

Heidi smiled, "I'm tired and jet-lagged, Alex. I don't know if I'm up for this argument with you right now."

"Max really misses you."

"Oh, you're good…"

Alex grinned, unable to hide her delight. "Whatever it takes. Let's put Phyllis to bed, then you can freshen up. You have to meet my sister, Heidi. And you remember Sanjay, don't you, my friend from St. Bartholomew's? The one who now runs the London office of the Andrassy Foundation. He's here as well. He came yesterday with his wife and four of his daughters…and then there's David Hayward, he's wanted to meet you for the longest time. I keep telling him about you…"

_Downstairs_

Robin Scorpio moved away from the crowded room, towards the study, taking another glance at her watch before pulling out two tiny, pink pills from her sequined purse.

She helped herself to a glass of juice from the tray of one of the countless waiters that floated through the rooms of Wildwind.

"Thank you," she told the tuxedoed waiter, swallowing the pills and suddenly spotting someone she was mildly surprised to see here.

Shawn O'Malley caught her furtive glance and silently moved in the other direction.

Robin cringed.

"Shawn, wait!" She called out after him. She followed him, realizing that the long, black strapless dress she wore, wasn't the best attire for taking large steps. Or steps of any kind really.

He turned around, offering her a polite smile. "Hi, Robin."

He'd let his hair grow since leaving his position as Director of Security at Wildwind. Instead of the very-short cut he once sported, Robin noticed that his hair was thick and wavy now, not unlike that of her uncle. He also sported a tan that emphasized his jade green eyes, giving him a rugged handsomeness that made her smile.

"Were you planning on avoiding me forever?" Robin asked him.

The hint of a smile lifted the corner of his lips, "Well, maybe not forever. But I'd be lying if I said I intended to be here tonight."

Robin chuckled. "Mom's got pretty good powers of persuasion, doesn't she?"

"That she does."

Robin didn't reply, letting an awkward silence surround them.

"I know you're angry with me…" he started.

"I _was," _she cut him off. "I definitely was. I won't deny that and I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled when I first heard you came to see my mom in the hospital. I didn't want you anywhere near her."

Shawn leaned against the window sill in his black tuxedo. "The last thing I wanted to do was cause any problems with you and your mother. But I want you to know that she's come to mean a lot to me, Robin. Too much for me to walk away."

Robin smiled, not surprised at his words. The change in her mother had been obvious this past month. "These last few weeks, my mom, she's been laughing a lot. It seems she's really…I don't know how to say it…_happy_, I guess." She paused, swallowing; "It's nice Shawn, to see her like that. After everything that's happened. I know you have something to do with that."

Shawn's eyes acknowledged her words, but he said nothing. That didn't surprise Robin either. Shawn O'Malley had never been a man of many words. Unless, he was with her mother, that is. She brought out something in him that no one else could.

"I know my mom doesn't like to admit it, at least not in front of me, but, as a doctor, I know how painful her injury was. I also know she's an impossible patient, Shawn. But you…you stuck by her side, after she got out of the hospital and during her entire hearing with the WSB. That means a lot to me…to know she had someone, who helped her heal the way you did. You managed to make her laugh, in spite of all the pain and the craziness."

"It went both ways, Robin. I think we both needed some help when it came to healing."

The confession came reluctantly and Robin couldn't help but admire him. _Still waters run deep indeed._

"I just want you to know, that I am glad you're in her life."

"Thank you…it means a lot to me and I know it means a lot to Anna too." Robin watched as he pulled a business card out of one of his jacket pockets.

He smiled, "Your mom and I, we made some plans. Anna's been hesitant about telling you, because she wasn't sure whether you'd approve."

Robin raised her brows in surprise, "_Plans?_"

"_Business_ plans. Here," He handed her the business card, and in turn Robin grinned.

"'_Devane-O'Malley Investigations'_? You're opening a PI agency?"

"Hopefully. We found a building, last week, in Chicago, that would be perfect to house the agency. It's an old, Victorian townhome. It needs a bit of work, but it's in a great neighbourhood and the price of the lease is very reasonable. We held off on signing it, because Anna wanted to tell you about it first."

Robin's eyes lit up, "A Victorian townhouse?"

"It's a really nice building, Robin. You'll have to come down once the office is ready for business."

"Chicago's so close to Pine Valley."

"It's why we chose it," Shawn agreed. "It has the market for our service and Anna wanted to stay close to you and Alex."

"I like the name, by the way. Let me guess, Mom picked it?"

Shawn didn't have a chance to respond when he saw David Hayward enter the room.

Hayward went against the norm and instead of a tuxedo, he wore a sleek, black, three-piece designer suit that fit him as though it was tailor-made.

'It probably is,' Robin thought, eyeing him. To say he looked good would have been an understatement.

"There you are, I was starting to get worried," David said to Robin, then glanced at Shawn. "Mr. O'Malley, good to see you here tonight." He had met Alex's former Director of Security only a couple of times.

"Likewise, Dr. Hayward." He turned his attention back to Robin. "I hope I'll see you again before the end of the evening. If not, allow me to wish you a Merry Christmas now."

Robin stood on her toes, and kissed his cheek, a sudden gesture that took him by surprise. "Merry Christmas, Shawn. And thanks… thanks for making my mom happy."

"Anytime."

Robin smiled as she watched him leave the room.

David looked at her in surprise. "I thought he was in the dog house?"

Robin shrugged her shoulders, "Who am I to make my mom feel guilty for wanting to grab a chance at happiness?"

"Sounds good to me."

Robin felt his warm hands on her bare shoulders, his thumb running along her shoulder when no one was looking. She felt his breath on the nape of her neck, tickling her, making her giggle.

He smiled and lowered his head to kiss her lips. They were soft and moist against her own.

Robin returned his kiss, secretly wishing the door of the room wasn't open quite so wide. "What was that for?" she asked with a smile.

David pointed towards the ceiling.

"Ah, I see. Mistletoe."

"I may not be Dimitri Marick's biggest fan," he conceded. "But I have to admit, he does have some good ideas, every now and then."

_Hunting Lodge_

Maximillian Marick spotted his aunt in the quiet, dimly lit room, staring out the window into the starlit night.

He smiled a lopsided grin when he saw her, wondering how his mother knew that this was exactly where she would be.

She looked different now, than when he'd first met her. His aunt had cut her hair and highlighted it with streaks of blonde, so it was now shorter and lighter than his mother's, long chestnut brown.

"What are you doing, Anna? Are you moping?"

Anna turned around in surprise when she saw him. "Moping?" She laughed, "What makes you think I'm moping? And what are _you_ doing here. All by yourself?"

"You're here. Away from everybody, what else would you be doing?"

"I was just thinking. I needed a break from all those people, that's all."

"So I was right. You're moping."

Anna smirked and pulled him towards her. "Hmm…you smell nice."

He didn't resist when she wrapped her arms around him. "Dad let me put on some of his cologne."

"Nice." Anna ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair. "Did I tell you already how handsome you look tonight?"

He blushed. "You think so?"

She grinned, "Yeah. I think so." She bent down to kiss the top of his head. 'And may you always be as blissfully unaware of your charm as you are now,' she thought.

"I want to have a dance with you before the party's over tonight."

Max laughed, "I can't dance."

Anna's fingers straightened the bow tie on his suit. "Don't worry, it's easy. I'll lead."

He made a face, as though contemplating her proposal before shaking his head. "No way."

"If you don't have a dance with me, then I'll…" she made a face too. "I'll take you to the stables and throw you into a heap of horse manure tomorrow…"

Max laughed. His aunt had a way of doing that. Saying things that made him laugh. "You wouldn't do that. You're not that mean…"

She gave him a wicked smile, "You'll find out just how mean I can be if you don't dance with me tonight." She noticed a paper bag in his hand. "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here, Max? It's quite the hike from the main house to the hunting lodge."

Although her sister had wanted her to stay in the main house, Anna had fallen in love with the hunting lodge; the small cottage style house that sat on the grounds of the estate. It reminded her of the cabin in Ontario, and staying here gave her some much-needed breathing room, away from the half dozen or so well-meaning new family members who seemed to want to check on her every five minutes.

"Mum asked me to go look for you. She wanted me to make sure you were okay."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Your mom worries about me way more than she should. Tell her that, okay?"

Max pulled what looked like a cookie out of his paper bag. "Here…" He handed Anna one. "This is for you…Mum also says you're way too skinny."

Anna raised her eyebrows. "You're kidding, right?"

Max took the cookie and held it up to her lips, unable to hide a grin on his face as he did. "Just eat it, Anna."

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's chocolate-peanut butter," he explained, watching her take a bite. "Maddie and I made them yesterday."

Anna cringed as she swallowed the first bite, spitting out the rest. "Max…these are terrible! What in the world did you put in these?"

Max giggled. "Salt."

"_Salt?_"

"I thought it was sugar."

"You substituted salt for sugar?" Anna made a face. "Max…these are _unbelievably_ bad."

"They look the same. Salt and sugar."

Anna laughed. "I suppose there's a lesson in there somewhere…that things aren't always what they look like. Who else did you feed these to? Not your parents I hope."

Max shook his head and laughed along with her. "Nah…just you and Maddie."

"Thanks…I feel so, I don't know… _privileged_." Anna smirked, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was time to head back to the main house, before Alex would worry in earnest.

"What did you get your mom for Christmas?" she asked her nephew.

He climbed onto her lap. "She said she didn't want anything. That she already got the best gift in the world."

Anna smiled, "Heidi coming to stay with you?"

Max shook his head. "No. You."

His words took her by surprise, "I…she would say that wouldn't she?" She spotted Shawn entering the lodge, smiling at the sight, unable to envision him not being a part of her life anymore.

"So this is where you two are hiding out…" Shawn grinned when he saw Max nestled in Anna's arms.

"Max made some fabulous cookies," she handed one to him. "Try one."

"Why is he grinning like that?"

Anna shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me."

Max giggled, waiting for Shawn's reaction.

"Hmm…not bad."

Anna raised her eyebrows and saw Max's smile fade into bewilderment.

"You _like_ them?"

Shawn nodded, taking another bite. "Yeah, they're good. Like a cracker…a bit salty but nice and tasty." He finished it and helped himself to another one.

Anna's eyes widened. "Really? I...uh, we should head back to the main house. Alex and Dimitri want everyone together for the tree lighting ceremony."

Max jumped away from her. "Race you back!"

"Sure, if you want to lose."

Max bolted out of the lodge, sprinting ahead of her.

Anna felt Shawn's hands on her shoulders, stopping her from following him. "Are you crazy? Running through the snow?"

"Certifiably. You know that already." She laughed and turned to him once Max was out of earshot. "Speaking of crazy, did you really like those cookies?"

He pursed his lips, "Truthfully…they are kind of odd. I figured you must have made them. I didn't want to knock your cooking skills in front of Max."

"Oh…" Anna punched him in the arm, a look of indignation on her face. "Just for that…I'm going to make you breakfast tomorrow."

Shawn grinned, "Don't threaten me like that, sweetheart." He ran his fingers through her hair as they left the hunting lodge. "Have I told you how amazing you look tonight?"

Anna shook her head. She picked up a handful of snow, moulded it into a ball, and threw it at him. "It's too late for flattery."

Shawn wiped the snow off his face, "Nice…you barely missed my tuxedo shirt."

Anna grinned, "Aren't you glad my aim is better than my cooking?"

"For once…" he laughed and watched her shiver in the cold. The moonlight brought out the green in his eyes. "Come here, my little sharpshooter, it's freezing." His breath was visible in the clear, cold night.

Anna let him move his arms around her as he pulled her into his tuxedo jacket. Anna wiped the snow from his face. "Why do I have a feeling you're going to get me back for this?"

He chuckled. "Nah…I don't believe in revenge."

"So what do you in believe in, O'Malley?"

He pulled her closer still. "Living well. I believe that living well is the best revenge."

She liked warmth of his arms around her. "It's a plan."

_Wildwind Estate_

Alex glanced through the doors of the ballroom, marveling at the crowd that had gathered for the lighting of the giant Christmas tree that stood in the middle.

She stiffled a yawn just as she felt a hand on her back. Dimitri.

"Tired?" he asked her.

She moved her hand over his. "I am…" she admitted. "But it's so worth it…this turnout. It's amazing."

"We could always sneak out and head upstairs after we light the tree."

Alex chuckled, "Is it good form for the hosts of the party to leave before the guests?"

Dimitri gave her a gentle push onto the dark, green sofa in the study. "We could start a new tradition. Either that or your sister and Shawn could take over as hosts for the rest of the night. Speaking of whom, what's up with those two anyway?"

Alex's eyes lit up, "They're cute aren't they?" She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I can't believe how many people came to Wildwind tonight."

"They're here because of you."

"You too."

"No…tonight is all your doing."

"I wanted to give something back because I've gotten so much."

Dimitri stiffled a yawn of his own. "We both have. But it seems like it took a long way to get here."

She nodded, serious now. "It did."

"Regrets?"

"Sure..." she said softly. "I wish I didn't have to keep you from Max all these years. Both of you lost out on so much."

"I should've trusted my instincts and searched for you. Part of me_ knew_ you didn't die…I _knew_ it and I _felt_ it and I should have trusted myself enough to believe it."

She turned to him, smiling now. "You _did_ come…when it mattered most." She ran an index finger along his lips. "There's no one whose instincts I trust as much as yours."

"How did this conversation turn so serious?"

Alex smirked, "You're a serious guy."

He did look serious. "I didn't think you believed in my...premonitions."

"I don't know about your premonitions, but I do trust your instincts because they're motivated by so much love."

"You're right, they are."

"All that time when I was at Brynn Wydd…all those years. I couldn't imagine being with anyone else, because I knew no one could ever love me as much as you. Knowing you were alive…it gave me so much strength and hope."

Dimitri eyed her. "Are you _trying_ to make me cry?"

"I'm not as good with words as you are…but I never want you to forget that you mean the world to me. I don't know where I'd be today if it wasn't for you."

"You _are_ my world."

She leaned in to him. "Merry Christmas, darling."

"Merry Christmas, Alex," he whispered in her ear, then glanced at his Omega watch. "Ready to face the crowd?"

Alex nodded. "Ready."

"Nervous?"

"Yes. " Alex bit her lip. "Do I look alright?"

"More than alright."

She took his hand in hers, gripping it tightly, and they entered the ballroom together.

Alex's eyes scanned the room for the most precious face in the crowd and she was relieved to spot Max, offering her his usual lopsided grin.

There were other faces on the crowd that made her smile too. People that had been a bigger part of her life than she'd ever imagined possible.

There was a young woman with dark, closely cropped, short hair and a wide, beaming smile. Comfortable at last, in her own skin. Bianca Montgomery.

She also saw Edmund Grey and Brooke, and their children, Sam and Maddie and Jamie, all of whom had opened their hearts to Max and given him an instant family as soon as he set foot in the United States.

There was also the kind, patient doctor who'd seen her at the lowest point in her life and helped her hold on to the one thing she was still capable of; practicing medicine. Alex acknowledged his presence with a glance in Sanjay Singh's direction. His wife and daughters were here too, looking splendid in colourful saris.

Then there was David Hayward, the complex, layered man who'd gone from enemy to reluctant colleague and ultimately one of her best friends. 'That old saying is so wrong,' she thought as she looked at him, next to the Native girl who now called him dad. 'People _do_ change. There are things that are bigger than us, that truly change us.'

There was a roaring round of applause as she and Dimitri stepped up to the microphone together.

"_Speech!_" she heard a voice yelling from the crowd. It might have been one of Dimitri's executives from the Marick Mine or maybe even Mac Scorpio, who was grinning at them.

Alex saw Dimitri eyeing the crowd, completely at ease in front of them. "No…no speech. Not a lengthy one anyway." There was a murmur of laughter. " Just a 'thank you' to all of you for coming here tonight. It means so much to Alex and myself to be able to share this evening with you."

He turned to Alex, looking at her as though she was the only person in the room. "I'd be lying if I said this…this celebration was my idea. The credit rests in the heart of the woman who holds my heart in her hands."

He moved aside, giving Alex a subtle push towards the microphone.

Alex saw her twin sister amidst the sea of faces. Anna caught her nervousness and gave Alex a thumbs up signal. Dimitri noticed it too, and he rested his hand on her arm, calming her.

Alex smiled as she took hold of the microphone, "Being a scientist, I have to confess, I'm not very good, or very poetic with words."

Alex saw Robin smiling, encouraging her.

"I'm also not one to believe in miracles…but tonight, tonight _is_ a miracle." She paused to take a breath. "Two years ago…my life was very different from today." She caught a glimpse of Heidi, near the front of the crowd. _And you're the only one who knows just how different._

"Losing what you love is the most difficult thing in the world. You lose faith and hope. You don't believe that miracles are possible."

Alex paused, using the back of her hand to wipe away a tear that fell freely down her cheek. "But being here tonight, with my husband, my son…and my sister, I now know that I was wrong to doubt that the most incredible things _can_ and do happen. I wanted to share that with those people who were with me on the journey to tonight. To celebrate the…"

Dimitri saw that her voice faltering and he took the microphone from her trembling hand, putting his free arm around her.

"_Love,_" he finished for her. "We want tonight to be a celebration of love." He paused, smiling into the crowd. "Merry Christmas!"

The room responded with a resounding chorus of applause.

"What about the tree?" Alex heard Max's voice, amidst the clapping.

Dimitri gestured for Max to join them next to the giant tree. "Come here," he handed him an electronic light switch. "You do the honours."

Max flicked the switch and in an instant the tree was lit with hundreds of lights, their brightness filling the room.

"Whoa…" Max took a step back. Duly impressed. "Pretty neat, Dad."

He kneeled down next to his son, his gaze resting on Alex.

"It is, Max, isn't it?"

**The End**


End file.
